How Bad Is The Drought?
The drought is really bad. Most part of the western region of Nevada, Arizona, Utah and California have been suffering from the ongoing drought. In California alone, the year 2013 was the driest year on record. The drought records have been recorded for over 100 years. Meanwhile, the recent rainfall of 2014 has helped a little, but it is a far cry from what they needed. The state is still dealing with a situation just as devastatingly bad as the drought that we faced between the years of 1976-1977. For the most part, California has only received one third of the normal annual rain fall. The Sierra snowpack is the place where California gets most of the state’s water. The snowpack is down 25 percent from its normal levels.
Who Is To Blame?
The main cause of this problem is because of the Resilient Ridge. This is a high pressure zone named by Daniel Swain, a Stanford graduate student. This high pressure zone is hanging out above the North Pacific and causing havoc. It has warded off the storms that would normally result in rain storms for western part of the United States. Rain storms that would carry rain from Southern California all the way up to the north of Alaska and parts of Canada. This has all happened because the high pressure zone, that usually goes away, has been present way too long.
How Does This Affect Our Water Usage?
We will need to use much less water. The question is how much less. This is hard to say exactly, but where you reside will help determine this amount. Water districts in the state of California are mandating that their residents reduce the amount of water usage by 20 percent. Other districts are requesting residents to voluntary cut usage. California is not the only place that is suffering from this drought. Las Vegas is also suffering from this drought for many years. Water use has been restricted in Las Vegas since 2002.
Can Artificial Grass Can Cut Down On Water Usage?
According to water management statistics, 75 percent of your monthly water bill is from outside water use! This statistic alone shows how important it is to have a water wise landscape. Installing artificial turf is one of the top ways to save water in the yard. Artificial turf is a good alternative that will still give you the look of a lawn. The other option would be a yard full of mulch or rocks. It is clear to see that the look of a lawn is much more attractive than the alternatives. Most people think that artificial grass is too expensive. There is now a cost effective way to reap the benefits of synthetic grass, its used artificial turf. Used artificial turf is much less expensive and it still looks really good. Used turf is just turf that has been removed for sports fields. This used sports turf still has many years of life left and makes a perfect solution for the price conscious consumer.