Palm Springs is so proud of their water conservation efforts that they are rewarding themselves with lots and lots of lush, green, water-sucking grass!
The city is so stoked about all of the water it has conserved over the past few months – that it is now looking to celebrate with some new winter rye grass. Via The Desert Sun:
Officials with Palm Springs presented a plan to the Desert Water Agency that would allow the city to resume the seasonal reseeding of some public areas in Palm Springs. The annual process where summer’s Bermuda grass is cut short, and then landscapers reseed with winter rye grass is water-intensive. Water agencies across the region have asked cities, homes and businesses to forgo the practice this year as the region and state come under mandatory water cutbacks.
However, Palm Springs has cut back its water use considerably since the state mandated 36 percent cutbacks from customers served by DWA. The city points out it reduced water use 43 percent in June and 49 percent in July, compared to the same months a year ago, according to an Oct. 2 letter sent from city offices to DWA. Palm Springs — largely regarded as DWA’s largest customer — have since released follow-up data showing the city reduced its water use 45.1 percent in August and 38.5 percent in September, compared to the same months last year.
The re-seeding plan is for Francis Stevens Park, Village Green, the baseball fields in Sunrise Park, the Palm Springs International Airport lawns, and the grounds around the Palm Springs Animal Shelter and Demuth Park – with nighttime watering lasting up to 14 days.
And how much water will that take? It does not matter to Palm Springs:
“So, there will be green grass in those areas, as we get into the winter,” Tom Nolan, director of the Palm Springs airport, told the Palm Springs Airport Commission at its Oct. 21 meeting. “Planting will occur soon. And we are allowed to water that area as much as necessary to get it to sprout and take hold.”
How wonderful.
To Palm Springs, the conserving during the drought is like going on a diet. If you stick to it for a few months and drop a few pounds, you are then allowed to celebrate by ordering anything and everything you wantat The Cheesecake Factory every night for 2 weeks – because clearly, you have earned it.
