By Robert Haugh
The Santa Clara Valley Water District may hire “water enforcement officials” who can fine residents who waste water up to $500.
They’ll look for sprinklers that run into the street and for homes that water lawns too many times a week.
Because of the ongoing drought, County residents were asked to cut water use by 15 percent from 2019 levels.
But that target has been missed. So the Water District board will vote on hiring water enforcement officers this month.
Our state has been in a drought for the last three years.
The City is asking for ideas on how to save water.
You can email your water saving ideas to Water@SantaClaraCA.gov. Put in the subject line: “Water Savings.”
Submissions should be 200 words or fewer and can include illustrations or photos.
The City will publish select stories with author permission in newsletters to share good ideas with the community.
Anyone wanting to DIY replace lawn with low water plants, here are 2 short videos on how to use cardboard and mulch to smother grass. After that, most people wait a couple of weeks for the grass to wither, and then plant low water flowers, shrubs, etc. A benefit of the DIY method is that lawn replacement is very low cost. You’ll need muscle, cardboard (can be free), mulch (this will cost some money), and a shovel or two (borrow them). When you plant you’ll need the plants, which can be cheap to expensive depending on how you obtain the plants.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Hi96xZG-jc A 3 minute time-lapsed How-to video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qtQgzuH0_EE A 2 minute combo explainer-video, with lessons-learned
Finally, Calscape.org is a website featuring low water and California native plants. You can search for plants by criteria such as low-water or sun vs shade or type (trees, shrubs, annuals, perennials, etc.) or even by city name. Finally, Calscape hosts an easy interactive garden planner: https://gardenplanner.calscape.org/
Or if you’re interested but are not a DIY person, for more money than above, you can hire a landscape designer and and contractor to replace a lawn for you.