MARIN RESIDENTS this summer may have to spend more to keep their lawns green. Both the Marin Municipal and North Marin water districts have made it more costly to water lawns and gardens. "We are keeping an eye on our water use," said Doreen Smith, who uses a minimal amount of water on her hybrid Bermuda grass, which is already showing patches of brown in the yard of her Lucas Valley home.
"But we have grandkids, and it's nice to have when they are over." Smith and thousands of others will wrestle with water use this summer in light of rate hikes aimed at prompting conservation. Residents like Robert and Nancy Praetzel of Kentfield, who could see their water bill increase by $100 or more if they slip into a higher water-use tier, will have to make some decisions about what to keep alive in their backyard gardens.
The Praetzels have already targeted one aspect of the landscape: the backyard grass. "We had already let it go last year, and we will not be watering it this year and it should die out," Nancy Praetzel said as she looked at the browning grass, sporting weeds and bare spots in places. "We can't afford to keep it alive, and it was not very water efficient anyway.
We will try to keep our front patch of grass, put it looks like it needs a drink, too." The Praetzels say they do all they can to conserve water, but they love their gardens, and it is hard for them to see parts of the yard shrivel up. "We had five weddings back there," said Nancy Praetzel, showing photos of the once lush yard.
"It's not the same now." Water agencies say consumers need to conserve. "We want to provide incentives for people to conserve water," said Paul Helliker, general manager of the Marin Municipal Water District.
"For those who use more water, it will affect them more greatly," he said of higher rates. "It has had an impact." Under a "tier" rate structure adopted in the spring by MMWD, the threshold for determining rates was tightened.
That means customers could end up slipping into higher tiers and paying more - as much as $200 more for the biggest water users. "I cut my lawn by 30 to 40 percent, and I still could see my bill go up by maybe $300 or more - I'm still waiting to get it," said Frank Davis of Kentfield. "I'm as frugal as it comes with water.
It seems like you should be able to have the small luxury of having a lawn." 1, the North Marin Water District approved a rate increase that affects about 25 percent of its residential customers who are the largest water users. District officials hope the rate hike, which targets the 5,800 or so homes that use more than 37,000 gallons of water every two months, will encourage heavy water users to conserve.
The average customer in this category will see the bill go up by about $30 a year, but bills could go up as much as $600 for some customers, or as little as $1 for others, North Marin officials said. "I already ration, so we should be fine," said Erica Antonio of Novato. "Our grass had gone brown, so we increased watering from 5 to 10 minutes, and that seems to have worked.
As soon as it gets cool, we will cut it back down. "Water is important." The region's most common lawn type is a cool-season turf grass requiring several times more water than native plants, official say.
Both water agencies are taking steps to encourage people, businesses and schools to replace lawns with water-efficient landscapes - or in the case of school playing fields, synthetic grass. MMWD estimates that half of the summer water use goes for irrigation and, overall, outside water use accounts for one-third of annual water use. North Marin water officials estimate more than 50 percent of district water goes for outdoor irrigation.
Novato water officials expect the new water rates, coupled with a mandatory 15 percent cut in water, will curb outdoor consumption this summer. "With all that's going on, the usage numbers may be skewed down, and that's a good thing," said Chris DeGabriele, general manager of the North Marin Water District. Contact Mark Prado via e-mail at mprado@marinij.
com MARIN RESIDENTS this summer may have to spend more to keep their lawns green.
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