DENVER — For some homeowners, current drought restrictions aren’t just changing when they water their lawns, they’re changing whether they want a lawn at all.
Local landscapers like Dena Townsend said they’re hearing from homeowners who are simply tired of fighting to keep their lawns green.
“People's yards are burnt up, and they're frustrated. They're ready to take it out and start all over again,” Gardens in Bloom owner Dena Townsend said.
Townsend expects crews to be busy throughout the fall, as more calls come in.
“I had four calls in the last week. Basically, what we're putting in is drip lines, so that way you don't have to worry about sprinkler heads,” Townsend said.
This comes nearly two weeks after Denver Water voted to ban lawn watering and sprinklers starting Oct. 1. You can still water your trees and plants by hand or with low-volume, non-spray systems like drip irrigation.
These are new rules that Townsend said will make water-wise landscaping an even bigger part of that conversation. But there may be another hurdle before the grass comes out: homeowners association rules.
“You have to be in touch with your HOA, find out what basically what their rules are. Some are requiring you to keep some sod. Some HOAs are letting you remove all of the sod,” Townsend added.
For Judith Miller, a Denver Water customer, she decided to make the change herself.
“You drive around town and see what used to be beautiful lawns just totally bare. The entire yard of my house used to be grass,” Miller said.
She wanted to be water-conscious following Denver Water’s newest watering rules.
“We've got rock here, we've got the flower bed here and I chose to keep a little bit of grass. That's very low water usage with drip systems,” Miller told Denver7.
Miller said she thinks the lawn watering and sprinkler ban are reasonable.
“There's nothing wrong with coming out and hand watering. They're not restricting hand watering, and hand watering is very efficient,” Miller said.
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