Desert Cities' Residents Slowly Realizing They Live In Deserts

[hatrack]

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Around Las Vegas the gambling mecca, outsiders may wonder where all the grass has gone. Since 2003, no new home has been allowed to have turf in the front yard. After all, this is a city that may get 4 inches of rain a year. For older houses, the Southern Nevada Water Authority offers rebates to homeowners who rip out grass and replace it with water-smart landscaping, which means a lot of rocks and usually some cactus. Other cities in the West do the same.

Some people find it hideous, but many Westerners have come to embrace it. It may take Rich Leskovac a few more years to come around. "I love grass, and I won't change to desert landscaping. It's just not eye appealing to me. To me, it's rock," said Leskovac, who moved to Las Vegas from Greenville, Pa., five years ago.

In 2003, with the West in the thick of the drought, the Southern Nevada Water Authority shut down all decorative water fountains, leading to unsightly empty tanks outside gas stations and business parks. "Any visual use of water like that can undermine people's perception of water conservation. It gives you the impression that water's not valued in your community," said Doug Bennett, the authority's conservation manager. Attractions such as the Mirage volcano and the Bellagio fountains on the Las Vegas Strip are on, but only because they use low-quality ground water or recycled water.

In Southern California, a weekly watering index guides homeowners on how to use sprinklers more efficiently. It is based on a scientific formula that takes evaporation rates into account. Water-saving suggestions for the city of Anaheim, Calif., include taking quick showers and refrigerating drinking water rather than run the faucet until the water turns cold.

Western life is full of schedules that tell when you may or may not water a lawn. Water officials here and in cities such as Albuquerque, Denver, and Tucson enforce the rules. Deviate from the schedule, or allow water to run down the street, and you may find yourself with a ticket. In many cases, it's neighbors tattling on other neighbors. In Las Vegas, N.M., Trujillo has gotten calls from a number of anonymous homeowners in the middle of the night. The homeowners generally report something along these lines: "Mr. Trujillo, if you come out here now, you'll catch them."

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http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2006/10/22/arid_west_confronts_its_water_shortage/

[Joanne98]

1. People who hate mowing the lawn will be happy!

[fudge stripe cookays]

2. Unbelievable.

Some people find it hideous, but many Westerners have come to embrace it. It may take Rich Leskovac a few more years to come around. "I love grass, and I won't change to desert landscaping. It's just not eye appealing to me. To me, it's rock," said Leskovac, who moved to Las Vegas from Greenville, Pa., five years ago.

Selfish prick. DUDE-- there is NO WATER. What about that don't you understand? You may not like rocks, but things are only going to get worse.

Bet he voted for Santorum before he left PA too. :eyes:

[acmavm]

5. There's all kinds of people like old Les. When we had water rationing

here a couple years back the woman behind me still watered her lawn all the time. But sometimes she did it late at night. Guess which days that was.

There's other folks like Les, selfish bastards, but in a different way. Old people and people who had severe (sometimes life threatening) alergies and sensitivites went to Phoenix in the 50s for their health. Then came the 70s and the influx of people who just had to have grass and trees and the whole nine yards. They installed irrigation to turn it into a green, verdant community rather than an area who's natural landscaping was rock, mountains, cactus and passion flowers.

My grandparents were there before the grass lovers. Long before. My grandfather died down there after years of respiratory problems. My grandmother came back. She said since she couldn't breath down there anymore she might as well just come back up here.

[Warpy]

3. I'm in central NM

and you bet we rat out anybody who's wasting water. If we wash our cars rather than running them through a power washer at a commerical place (which recycles water and uses less), we drive them onto grass if we still have any and let the water run off where it'll do some good. Swimming pools are rare and spas all have heavy covers. An uncovered pool will evaporate 2 inches of water a day in summer and nearly that in winter.

We have water police in summer and woodsmoke police in winter and the good news is that most of us are cool with it.

[Journeyman]

4. The Southwest entered a period of permanent drought decades ago. . .

there are too many people and too little water to sustain them.

[eppur_se_muova]

6. Masters of the Bleeding Obvious.

Time to plug Marc Reisner's "Cadillac Desert" (book or video doc) again!