Stewardship Tip, Aug 4th, 2009 – Seed to Conserve Water
The end of the summer is the perfect time to renovate and improve your lawn. The cool evenings and warm days in September help cool season grass seed to germinate and grow quickly.
If lawn renovation is on your agenda for the fall, consider planting a turf-type fescue. Turf-type fescues have increased in popularity in the past few years because their deep root system reduces the need for watering and fertilizing. The new varieties have a more appealing color than older varieties, resist clumping, and have good resistance to disease and insects. They perform well in shade or full sun.
A healthy, high-quality bluegrass or ryegrass lawn may need up to 2.25 inches of water per week under hot, dry, windy summer conditions. Turf-type fescues require 1/3 to 1/4 less water than bluegrass.
Why it is important to the Fish: In 1941, when the Los Angeles Aqueduct was extended to the Mono Basin, the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power began diverting water from Mono Lake’s tributary streams to meet the city’s growing water demands. The results were devastating. Rush, Lee Vining, Parker, and Walker Creeks dried up below the diversion dams. The fisheries in the creeks were destroyed. With no tributaries, Mono Lake dipped to a historic low of 6,372 feet in 1982. Unable to adapt to these changing conditions, the ecosystem began to collapse.
Through years of negotiation and litigation, the Mono Lake Committee worked to protect the sources of Mono Lake. According to Geoffrey McQuilkin, Mono Lake Committee Co-Executive Director in 2002, protecting Mono Lake wasn’t about trying to get rid of Los Angeles as a water user, “Our opponents wanted to portray us that way, but they couldn’t because we were looking for solutions to LA’s real water needs as much as we were looking for water for Mono Lake.” He adds that “at Mono, Los Angeles had to learn to live within bounds. It can have some Mono Lake water but not all the water. The thing to remember is that even with all the water, the city would still have had to learn to live within limits. Now it is doing so with a vibrant, recovering ecosystem at the other end of its aqueduct. It could have had to do the same thing with a toxic saline sump at the top of the aqueduct.”
It was a hard lesson for the city of Los Angeles. Because of the Mono Lake Committee’s emphasis on conservation as opposed to importing more municipal water, the city of Los Angeles, despite a 30% growth in population, is using over 100,000 acre-feet less water than it did in 1990.
It is a lesson that extends to all of us. By planting turf grasses such as fescue, we are living within limits and protecting our waters at the source. When we use plants that can survive and thrive with less irrigation, we reduce the impact on our municipal water supply and, ultimately, our fish.
For more on lawns that conserve water, visit The Lawn Institute’s website.
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