Skulking Nocturnal Illegal Sprinklers New Threat to Water Supply

i love a green lawn as much as the next person, but it would bewiser just to allow drought tolerant native grasses to grow.

Wow, I live in Indianapolis which is a few miles from Brownsburg. This doesn't suprise me at all!

I've never understood the appeal of lawns. I'd rather put in native plantings to create a habitat for birds and other animals.

Gah, people. My next-door neighbors are just that sort. Wish there was something we could do about them.

I agree that we have to conserve water, but are we going to give the police the authority to arrest us for water use?

It's scary when you start to think about the additional need that environmentalism somewhat creates for a greater police state.

Do i have a solution, no.

This really bugs me. I see this all around my town and I can't see how anyone can be so selfish and blind to the realities. My "lawn" is pretty burned out this year due to a fairly dry spring/summer. Am I worried? Not one bit... it will grow back. It always does once the cooler wetter fall weather comes. I won't even consider watering it. My neighbors on the other hand have the sprinklers running morning and night.

Making it worse is all the chemicals (fertilizers, weed killers, insect killers) these people dump on their lawns to keep them lush, green and weed free, end up in the water table. I gave up on all of that stuff years ago when I took a minute to think about where all those pesticides were going. Now, I spread "Envirolawn" grass seed and white clover. The lawn looks great, is much more drought resistant and the 'wildlife' has returned.

We just bought a new (existing) house with more property but virtually no lawn (it's mostly woods and will stay that way as long as I live there!) and I'll be doing the same thing to that lawn as well. In fact the amount of grass is so small I'm trading my gas mower for a reel mower. I still have a long way to go but it's a start.

I honestly can't wait for the day when environmental crimes are harshly punishable by law, and people shun offenders as if they were pedophiles.

People are pretty crazy about their lawns it seems. It's like a status thing - you want to have a better lawn than your neighbour. I don't get it.

My parents live in the suburbs and I'm happy to say that they are early adapters of "green" lawncare. I''m not sure how it is in dryer climates (where clearly, a lawn isn't supposed to grow- I'm looking at you Arizona, Nevada, etc.) but all my dad does is cut the grass with the blades set higher and aerate once and a while, and he's got one of the greenest lawns on the block without any fertilizer, weed-killer or anything.

So the real solution is to make them pay for it through the nose... But nobody wants to admit that water costs something to produce.

At the house I used to live, in Garden Grove California (Southern California, Orange County), I was so happy to have a lawn.

One of the most relaxing things in the world was to wake up in the morning, sit outside and soak up the outdoors and the offshore breeze, then go out and mow my lawn, and have a hamburger and a beer for lunch.

When I first moved in, I didn't know anything about lawn care at all, and I started watering the lawn in the late afternoon, every other day. Well, the lawn seemed always stunted, and there were patches of brown and dead grass.

I finally read somewhere that if you watered your lawn at night, it gave the water time to soak into the soil to the root level so that the water was available to the grass all day long, no matter how hot or dry it was outside (remember, this is southern california). Well, I moved the timer to start watering the lawn again every other day, but I set it for about 4 in the morning.

Not only did the grass spring back lush and green and full, but I was able to cut my watering time IN HALF, and conserved a TON of water while having a nice "green" lawn all at the same time.

I don't understand why everyone loves lawns so much. Ugh. wasted water, all that horrible fertilizer/pesticide runoff, etc.

An idea wrt fines is to include in the same envelope pamphlets about grey water recovery systems for lawn and garden watering, and examples of lawns using drought resistant/native species etc. Offer land-tax breaks for properties using such.

Good grief! It's GRASS people!

Hey all-

I know I'm out of my league on this question/response but....

I understand saving/conserving water - especially in drought seasons, and I understand that we are living in these extremes due to the changes in climate from years of abuse from pollution and such however, is it possible that keeping plants living - indoors and out could possibly help keep/improve the current state of the climate?

I mean - our plants, trees, grasses etc all provide oxygen and help keep the temperatures a bit more moderate - if the plants don't get the water they need would it be better to let them die and hopefully another type of drought tolerant species can move in or something?

I know its a devil's advocate type of thinking but please I'm curious what others think.

Grass makes very little difference in GHGs because they are so small (when mowed). And the average suburban home puts a huge amount of resources into keeping it "green", which isn't very green.

I also don't get why people hate crabgrass so much. People spend so much time killing it, when it grows so much better and greener than normal grass.

I wonder if that water bill was for the Donald

Water conservation and lawn care in Indianapolis is a top priority at Nine Yards, and we strive to teach all of our clients ways they can get the results they want.
Generally speaking, one of the best ways to save water and follow local laws is to adjust the timing and to use control systems to deliver small amounts of water. We have used this system for years with great results and are more than willing to assist new clients with solutions as well!