Golis: The grass isn’t greener anymore

“We’re in a new era. The idea of your nice little green grass getting lots of water every day, that’s going to be a thing of the past.”

- Gov. Jerry Brown.

Two years ago, we stopped watering our lawn. What was green grass became a patch of dirt with tufts of gray weeds scattered here and there. Looking for forgiveness from our neighbors, we posted a sign: “Water Conservation - Doing Our Part.”

The city pays people a few bucks to remove their lawns, but we judged that what was left in our front yard didn’t qualify anymore. It wasn’t pretty.

Then a funny thing happened. Other neighbors began letting their lawns go brown, too. Some went so far as to rip out their lawns and replace them with drought-resistant landscaping.

Four years of drought changes things, doesn’t it? When there isn’t enough water to go around, paying lip service to the task of water conservation will no longer get us through the long, hot summer.

We learned last week that all those brown lawns in our neighborhood helped produce a remarkable outcome. Every community in Sonoma County exceeded the statewide goal of a 25 percent reduction in water use.

Santa Rosans reduced their water consumption by 43.8 percent since July of 2013. Rohnert Park residents used less water than any other city in the county, consuming just 58.5 gallons per day per capita.

In this cynical time, we seldom stop and say that people should be proud of what they’ve accomplished. So let’s take a moment here and say: People should be proud.

Thanks to the water stored behind Lake Sonoma, North Bay residents have had it better than most - this year - but no one wants to think about what next year will be like if we have another winter like the last three years.

Eventually, we will test whether Californians can embrace lasting change. Should the first winter rains tempt us to fall back into our old wasteful ways, it wouldn’t be the first time. When it rained last January, people were ready to declare an end to the drought - and then it didn’t rain (or snow) again.

From history, we know this drought is not like all the others. The conditions are more extreme. There is abundant evidence that the climate is changing. Scientists says we face a long period of unpredictable weather.

Meanwhile, long after it made sense, Californians have conducted their business as if their will always be enough water. In our over-consumption of water, we have borrowed against the future.

Use it now, and we’ll figure out the consequences later, we said. We only need to build another dam or drill a deeper well. Never mind the cost, or the environmental destruction. Never mind that your neighbor’s well is going dry.

Rural residents who once hated the idea of government regulation of wells now aren’t so sure.

The cheapest, least destructive way to develop new water sources is to stop wasting what we have, but we have been spoiled.

Some will now pay the price through real (or imagined) hardships. Why should I have to do without the lawn I love so much?

Others will pay the price in the loss of their livelihoods. UC Davis researchers last month estimated 2015 drought losses at $2.74 billion and 21,000 jobs.

In times of shortage, people will be quick to cast blame on someone else, especially when people think some are sacrificing and others are not.

So it will behoove us all to get smarter about this.

While Californians want agriculture to be successful, farmers need to do everything in their power to demonstrate they are committed to the efficient use of limited resources.

But then so should we all.

As for our front yard, a crew this week will dig up what is left of the “lawn” and replace it with drought-resistant plants.

At theatlantic.com last week, Megan Garber wrote about “The Life and Death of the American Lawn.”

“Grasses - green, neatly trimmed, symbols of civic virtue - shaped the national landscape. They have now outlived their purpose,” the commentary declared.

Mine may be dead, but I’m not sure there’s no place for front lawns in American life. Children should have a place to play. Grass doesn’t require irrigation in regions with regular summertime rain.

In the arid regions of California, however, it’s getting harder to justify the water necessary to maintain subdivisions dominated by green grass. There’s only so much water to go around, and other people have better uses for it than I do.

Pete Golis is a columnist for The Press Democrat. Email him at golispd@gmail.com.