Fake grass touted as water saver
By: DAVE DOWNEY - Staff Writer | ∞
Diego Coronel 26 nails down the field turf during the installation of fake grass in a Carlsbad yard on Thursday.
John Koster / For The North County Times
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In the latest twist in an expanding campaign to conserve water, area suppliers have decided to encourage homeowners around San Diego and Riverside counties to trade in their thirsty, lush lawns for fake grass.
The move toward synthetic lawns comes at a time when supplies are being squeezed as the result of a widening drought throughout the West and recent shutdowns of critical water delivery systems in the Sacramento area.
Earlier this month the Metropolitan Water District, urban Southern California's chief water provider, added fake grass to a growing list of water-saving products for which it offers cash rebates. The list also includes new rebates to businesses for low-water-use toilets, waterless urinals, low-water-use washing machines and dry vacuum pumps that replace water vacuum pumps in dentist offices.
Fake grass is the target of "our latest incentive," said Bob Muir, spokesman for Metropolitan in Los Angeles, of the 30-cents-per-square-foot rebate the district is offering homeowners.
"We realize that's a modest amount," Muir said. "Synthetic turf can cost, depending on where you get it, anywhere from $6 to $12 a square foot. But it's a step in the right direction. We believe it sends a very specific and positive message to residents that saving water through synthetic turf is an option for them."
At the same time, Muir said, synthetic-turf conversions have the potential to slash homeowners' water use in half and sharply reduce monthly water bills.
Dave Hartman, president of Escondido-based FieldTurf, one of the region's largest fake-lawn manufacturers, said he's not sure that Metropolitan's rebate offer is compelling enough to make the inroads that the large water district would like to make.
Nonetheless, Hartman said, it can't hurt.
"If nothing else, I think the awareness will help," he said. "Water is going to continue to be an issue, and synthetic turf is part of the solution."
Metropolitan is a giant agency that distributes imported water from the Colorado River and Northern California to communities in a wide swath stretching from Ventura to Mexico, including San Diego and Riverside counties. Those who live within its service area will be eligible for rebates through an Internet-based program that will debut in early 2008, Muir said.
In the meantime, homeowners can apply for rebates through their local water providers.
Melanie Nieman, director of community involvement for Eastern Municipal Water District, said once Metropolitan's plan is implemented her agency will make customers aware of the program and the rebate being offered.
"We plan to follow (Metropolitan's) lead to both commercial and residential customers," Nieman said. "In the meantime we have a lot of other rebates available to our customers."
Those include rebates for purchasing high-efficiency clothes washers and toilets.
Eastern provides water service to portions of Temecula, Murrieta and Menifee.
While synthetic turf has not yet become the rage in front yards of homes, high schools across Southwest County have opted to use it for their playing fields, citing lower maintenance costs
Hartman said the new artificial playing fields being installed are much spongier than the rock-hard AstroTurf that once carpeted football and baseball stadiums.
Homeowners, meanwhile, are opting for synthetic yards to get out of mowing. At least that was the reason cited by Tom Thornton, a retired tool-store owner in Rancho Bernardo, who made the switch two months ago.
"I've had people come by and ask, 'Is that real?'" said Thornton, 71. "I love it. The front yard is beautiful, and I never have to mow it anymore."
Other homeowners are choosing synthetic turf because they want to avoid patching holes in lawns dug by persistent dogs and gophers, Hartman said.
"It used to be known as a wacky idea," said Hartman, who is rapidly approaching his 3,000th fake-grass installation. "Now, most people know somebody who has a synthetic lawn."
It's only been recently, one San Diego County water district employee said, that fake grass has been exploited for its water-saving potential.
"That's just one more benefit," said Vickie Driver, principal water resources specialist for the San Diego County Water Authority. "Your grass tends to be the highest water-use-demand plant that you have."
Still, synthetic turf has its downsides.
The rubbery material that forms the bed of fake fields tends to get much warmer than real grass, and some schools have to hose them down on hot days to cool them off, Driver said. But, she said, such occasional water use is a drop in a bucket compared to the huge amounts that are poured onto natural fields to keep them green.
Also, on the East Coast in recent weeks, environmental groups have been raising concerns about the fumes that come off the fields, which are essentially made from pieces of old tires. And a Connecticut agency is examining that issue in a study due to be completed later this summer.
"I can't imagine that being an issue," Driver said. "This is the first time I've heard of that being raised as a concern."
Contact staff writer Dave Downey at (760) 740-5442 or ddowney@nctimes.com. Comment at nctimes.com.
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Expensiive fake grass wrote on Jul 22, 2007 11:33 PM:Why does it cost so much? Just nail it down. Is it the 'gimmick' in it or what? Hartman can retire soon - 3000 installations at about $10 a square FOOT! WOW! But I agree, it's a water saver, but rather new and I wonder if all the 'kinks' have been worked out? Fumes? Hmmmm......I also agree that schools should invest in it. I'm tired of our kids falling in gopher and other holes and hazards. Sprained ankles and broken bones keep kids out of school. Schools would also save tons on water costs and custodial maintenance as well. But, for me, I can't afford it.
chatter wrote on Jul 23, 2007 4:27 AM:How are you going to keep the dirt off it-blow it off -not likly -you still going to use water to wash it off .
David S wrote on Jul 23, 2007 4:30 AM:Fumes given off by the crumb rubber used for artificial turf? If that were the case, we'd all be dead from the millions of car tires being worn down on the highways across the country and the rest of the world!!
Center City Parkway wrote on Jul 23, 2007 6:19 AM:I noticed that the city of Escondido has planted long expanses of grass in the new medians on North Center City Parkway. This has to be watered, mowed, and weeded on a regular basis. Our tax dollars and water supply would have been better served with fake grass, or better yet, total xeriscape as the city of Poway did in their new medians on North Pomerado Rd.
I ave been thinking it is time to move out of California wrote on Jul 23, 2007 6:28 AM:Fake grass is great IF you can afford it. Like solar panels they can cost about $ 40,000 most of us have to pay high mortgages to live in California where a little shed can cost up to $ 500,000. Add the cost of gas for most of us who have to commute, private schools because the California schools for the most part are dumps. Unless you live in a very high prized school district where the homes can range from $ 700,000 and up for a little old shed.
Robert24 wrote on Jul 23, 2007 7:30 AM:Fake grass, PV solar power, bio-fuel, hybrid cars; they are all priced so high that it is hard for the average consumer to try and help the environment! Real grass is what, .30 a square foot to buy? Add a couple of Labor Ready (NOT illegals!) in to lay it down and you still are way under a buck a foot. Most folks can afford that and the water afterwards. Just wish they'd make this stuff more affordable to really help.......
Costly wrote on Jul 23, 2007 7:40 AM:Solar panels should be cheaper and we should be given a tax break...same thing with this new grass. These new grass companies are going to make a fortune and say..it'll pay off in 20 years. But for us regular people, that doesn't help. I'd rather just turn my green grass brown.
Cheaper Solution(s) wrote on Jul 23, 2007 7:55 AM:My wife and I just installed artificial grass at our home and it only cost us about $3.00 a sq ft through Costco (self installed). We're very happy with the product (Pregra). It looks real and so far we've had no problems. The grass can get a bit warm in the afternoon sun but it's not THAT bad! As for other solutions: Rainwater Harvesting, Give it a try sometime. It's a cheap and easy solution that can help "correct" some of our bad habits (such as our tendancy to waste clean, potable water). By using harvested rainwater for your landscape, you are are using free water provided by nature and reducing the demand on our overextended, imported water supply. Even here at the coast where we only average 10 inches of rain a year (30+ inches in the mountains), you can harvest enough rainwater from your roof (and through runoff control on your property) to keep your plants/landscape green year-round. This is especially true if you plant native species! In fact, you can harvest/collect 500-600 gallons of water from your roof from just 1 inch of rain alone (assuming a roof catchment area of only 1000 sq ft)!!! For anyone who's interested, I recommend picking up a copy of "Rainwater Harvesting for Drylands" by Brad Lancaster.
Algore wrote on Jul 23, 2007 8:08 AM:Just another man-made application which contributes to Global Warming! The fumes it gives off and the reflection of heat into the atmosphere causes more problems than just dirt alone. What's wrong with just having dirt and weeds. The plants give off oxygen for us to breath!
Scott wrote on Jul 23, 2007 8:15 AM:I've got it in my back yard and love it. It pays for itself in a couple years because there is no watering or sprinkler systems to install and maintain. It's great around pools because the clorinated water tears up real grass. Clean up is done with a leaf blower and there are new pellets that aren't made of rubber, it doesn't absorb urine or give off an odor and doesn't get as hot (110) as the rubber used before.
Pony Up wrote on Jul 23, 2007 8:47 AM:Until the government gets a little more serious about offering real incentives to homeowners to save energy with solar panels or water with artifical grass, the average homeowner simply cannot afford to do it. We are too busy trying to keep gas in our cars, pay our ever increasing grocery bills, defeating new bond measures to keep our property taxes affordable, keeping our homes insured in a high risk area and pay our outrageous mortgages on our outrageously priced homes.
Candy wrote on Jul 23, 2007 8:48 AM:I just haven't figured out the dog issues yet. Do you still shovel--then what about what's left behind. It will be both the smell of rubber and waste after you have spent thousands. Who wants to sit on that?
Van wrote on Jul 23, 2007 8:50 AM:30 cents a square foot rebate isn't enough! My husband and I did check out the "fake grass" and the less expensive stuff is very sparse and if anyone considers going with fake grass,they would definitely consider going with the one that costs $12.00 per sq. foot. Our lawn is 5000 sq. ft, so it would have cost $60,000! Sorry, but I'd like to stick with my REAL grass and water with my WELL water! One thing the article failed to mention....fake grass does fade over time!
David P. wrote on Jul 23, 2007 8:54 AM:I'm sorry, there is nothing like the real thing. There are theraputic advantages of caring for and mowing real grass.
Move already! wrote on Jul 23, 2007 9:12 AM:To all you people who complain about California, and how you think it's time for you to move away... go already! This grass is a good idea overall, though not my choice for a backyard. To each his own.
Charles wrote on Jul 23, 2007 10:09 AM:Synthetic grass is the yard of the future for southern california. Even at a high of $15 a foot, the ROI has to be less than 2 to 3 years. No water, no mowing, no anything but a green landscape. I think it's a great idea..
What's REAL anymore"? wrote on Jul 23, 2007 10:11 AM:Fake grass will soon be a 'keep up with the Joneses commodity.' Both your next door neighbors have installed it and the yard you've loved, nurtured, babies for 20 years now looks like an unkempt field. What to do? Real or fake? California is 'fake' from its schools to politics, to self-entitled and a greedy populous. I agree with 'time to move out of California' where '4 bedroom brick sheds' still can be found for UNDER $100K. Then we could afford the fake grass on our acre+ lot. And yellow school busses would pick up our kids!
obvious wrote on Jul 23, 2007 10:16 AM:The synthetic grass tends to hold heat.
Fake Grass is not eco-friendly wrote on Jul 23, 2007 10:40 AM:I presume that it increases the runoff of water??? or is it porous? Grass serves the function of converting green house gases (CO2) back into oxygen. Manufacturing this grass is not eco-friendly. Get a drought resistant grass, like Bermuda, it can go months without water, we also need to water our grass with gray water.
GFN wrote on Jul 23, 2007 11:03 AM:Fake Grass, 10:40 AM thank you for the information. Wouldn't the average temperature in an area increase if we all had fake grass; wouldn't it be like paving everything? Don't you get little specks of black rubber all over everything?
Fred H wrote on Jul 23, 2007 11:29 AM:Lets take one step backward. Ya think that if we don't have enough water to go around, we might be close to over population? Hell No! open up the border and build more houses. I like pink flamingos, plastic plants and paper mache birds in the plastic trees. Great standard of living. WHAT A COUNTRY!!
CLinSD wrote on Jul 23, 2007 11:46 AM:Dave Hartman, president of Escondido-based FieldTurf, one of the region's largest fake-lawn manufacturers, said he's not sure that Metropolitan's rebate offer is compelling enough to make the inroads that the large water district would like to make. Nonetheless, Hartman said, it can't hurt. "If nothing else, I think the awareness will help," he said. "Water is going to continue to be an issue, and synthetic turf is part of the solution." YES. YES, THE AWARENESS WILL HELP... HELP MAKE HARTMAN A FRIGGIN MILLIONAIRE 100 TIMES OVER. THE COST FOR SYNTHETIC TURF IS ASTRONOMICAL AND THE AVERAGE JOE SIMPLY CAN NOT AFFORD IT!
nancyl wrote on Jul 23, 2007 12:05 PM:How do you keep the fake grass reasonably clean? Real grass and soil will absorb things and bugs and microbes will break them down. How do you handle blood, sweat, tears, pet waste, bird droppings, etc on fake grass?
GIN wrote on Jul 23, 2007 12:32 PM:To many people, not enough stuff to go around. It is time to make some life changes and focus on not wasting any natural resource. Look at whats happening in the world, and you can't think things are just going to get better by themselves. Fake grass might be hokey, but that is where we are...
anon wrote on Jul 23, 2007 12:35 PM:Riverrosck -pebble size is a nice look and needs no water of nailing down
Why have grass at all? wrote on Jul 23, 2007 12:58 PM:We live in a semi-desert. Lawn grasses are not native and couldn't live without a ton of water here. Who needs grass? Plant natives. Many are beautiful, interesting, require about zero water. Why pretend we live in the east or in Europe?
Mary wrote on Jul 23, 2007 1:21 PM:Why stop with fake grass? Why not have fake palm trees, and other fake shrubs and trees? Save lots of water, although the average temperature in the county may go up about 15 to 20 degrees. But then you can get a fake swimming pool with virtual water.
Natural is the way to go. . . wrote on Jul 23, 2007 1:48 PM:Is this a petroleum-based product? Less grass, more native planting and rainwater harvesting seem like much better environmentally friendly options to me.
lpf wrote on Jul 23, 2007 1:54 PM:Time for water reuse!
Do you think households wrote on Jul 23, 2007 2:36 PM:that are suppose to be single family and have four or five families living in them use more water?
Gopher hater wrote on Jul 23, 2007 2:51 PM:Gopher runs will still happen under this stuff. Gophers can tunnel over 600 feet in one day! How do you correct "lumps" and "sags caused bu gophers?
Solar is a good value wrote on Jul 23, 2007 3:07 PM:To all of you people who whine about the cost of solar, you should do a cost benefit analysis. It will pay for itself over time. 10 years in my case. It is ridiculous to expect the goverment to subsidize the cost of you eliminating your electric bill!
Karl wrote on Jul 23, 2007 5:19 PM:"Solar is good value" bless you for your efforts. Bottom line is that most of us will not make the effort that you did until the government hands over some kind of subsidy like free food stamps, free child care etc. Sad isn't it? Thanks for the effort though.
DCS Temecula wrote on Jul 23, 2007 8:26 PM:This LOOKS fake. Too shiny. Gopher Hater has a point.
Hey Jose wrote on Jul 23, 2007 8:55 PM:I'm a 70 year native Californian and I cannot understand why the water crisis should be my crisis. Birth control has been used to limit over population, but we've never implemented any such controls in Southern California. We don't have a water problem, we have a population problem yet we tackle the wrong issue.
re: Do you think households wrote on Jul 23, 2007 9:21 PM:I think that 4 or 5 household under one roof use a lot less water than 4 or 5 households living under 4 or 5 roofs. OOps, did I just say something politically incorrect?
Rambo wrote on Jul 23, 2007 9:21 PM:Why not just put rows of Barrel Cacti and Sandstone????Thats what they do in the mean streets of Pahrump, Nevada.
stockyard wrote on Jul 23, 2007 9:43 PM:Does the fake grass catch on fire faster than other shrubbery? Do the rubber pieces smolter if ignited?
dumb wrote on Jul 23, 2007 10:50 PM:How does anything percolate through it? It's just like paving over your lawn. All the water will runoff and flood your street instead of replenish underground supplies. Also, what happened to using natural local vegetation in your lawn? If you do that, you've got a lawn with plants already adapted to the local environment. Those plants are used to having very little water...so you'd be saving water with that too.
Roger wrote on Jul 24, 2007 6:48 AM:Not all synthetic lawn needs crumb rubber. The lawn has a better drainage rate than "real lawn" and easy to clean by simply a light rinsing once every few weeks or using a weed blower. Go see different types installed at Kaufman Masonry & Landscape Supply in Vista.
WaterWeW8NG4 wrote on Jul 24, 2007 11:55 PM:Next to low flush toilets, hot water recirculators save thousands of gallons of water per home each year. New Mexico, Arizona know it and give rebates to homeowners for installing one. Todays recirculators are easy enough for a homeowner to install one in their home in less then 15 minutes. Considering how much water each of us wastes daily waiting for hot water, it's time we quit ignoring a sure thing to save both WATER and TIME...everytime hot water is used.
Scott wrote on Jul 25, 2007 6:27 PM:One more thing, because one of my children is allergic to grass we were able to claim the cost of our backyard from our taxes as a medical expense. So that helped a little.
D Owen wrote on Jul 30, 2007 3:08 PM:Yes you will save water, but don't forget your shoes in the summer. My backyard gets so hot that we can not walk on the synthetic turf. It looks great though and the rest of the year we love it. You do get weeds from blowing seeds and dust/dirt shows very clearly.
Beth wrote on Jan 12, 2008 2:34 PM:Cheaper Solutions -
I am wondering how you are liking your fake grass. My husband and I are very interested in getting some. Please let me know.
Thanks
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