CONSERVING WATER RESIDENTS WINNING THE TURF WAR BY GOING FAUX OR GOING NATIVE.

Byline: DANA BARTHOLOMEW

Staff Writer

NORTHRIDGE -- Two months ago, Tom McMinn grew tired of weeds, busted sprinklers and the rising cost of watering his lawn.

So he laid down a blanket of grass as perfect as his remodeled ranch house -- and all of it fake.

"It looks nice year-round. You don't have to worry about watering it. You save on your water bill. And you don't have a gardener," said McMinn, 72, of Northridge, admiring his emerald turf. "I don't know how many people I've seen bend down and say, 'Oh, it's fake grass. How can I put it in my place?"'

As Southland water officials talk of potential rationing amid a looming water shortage, McMinn is one of a growing number of Angelenos opting for drought-resistant or even synthetic lawns.

Once considered a prickly grass substitute best suited for miniature golf courses, fake grass has become the latest darling in the battle against drought.

It looks real. It feels real. And it requires no mowing, fertilizing, weed killing or sun.

And unlike thirsty grass, it requires no water.

By some estimates, up to 500 homes a week across Los Angeles County are now opting for the synthetic stuff.

"It is covering Los Angeles," said Henry Sosa, owner of Carlsbad-based SoCal Synthetic Turf, which does 80percent of its business in the L.A. region. "I have the wealthiest in Bel-Air to the people in Watts putting in artificial turf.

"This is totally the stuff of the future."

Xeriscaping, or drought-resistant gardening, has become the "green" path to an eco-friendly yard. But the greenest alternative, water officials say, is fake turf.

"This is the new frontier in conservation. We're moving outdoors," said Andy Sienkiewich, manager for water resource implementation for the Metropolitan Water District. "In the residential area, we think artificial turf has especially high value."

Rebate offered

This summer, the MWD elected to pay residents to use fake grass, giving 30cents for every square foot of turf. The rebate will be offered early next year via the agency's Web site, www.bewaterwise.com, alongside other water-saving incentives.

The need to conserve is dire.

A federal court order to protect the endangered delta smelt will soon force the MWD to cut its supply of water from Northern California by 25 percent.

The cutback, plus an eight-year drought in California and the Colorado River Basin, threatens to cripple the region's water supply.

The Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, which has reduced its water intake from the Owens and San Fernando valleys, now buys 70percent of its water from the MWD. As a result, both agencies have warned of imposing water rationing for the first time since the early 1990s.

Since up to 70percent of water use occurs in people's yards and driveways, turning off the spigot outside presents the greatest potential for conservation.

And lawns, which take six feet of water by volume to irrigate each year, have become the water-guzzlers of the garden.

"We ought to take a cue from Las Vegas," which is paying residents to tear up their turf, said Steve Graves, a professor of geography at California State University, Northridge. "They see the writing on the wall, that we're going to run out of water and might as well learn to practice conservation now."

Lawns, which have roots in the gardens of England, now cover Los Angeles. In the Valley, nearly every home -- front and back -- is a lesson in lawn care.

Graves traced turf's appeal to 18th-century gentleman farmers of Virginia and Kentucky, whose expensive front lawns, whitewashed fences and stately trees established the accompaniment to the American dream.

"It's nature," Graves said, "but nature controlled by the hand of man."

The CSUN professor, known around campus for burning biodiesel in his vintage VW and sporting solar panels on the roof of his West Hills home, almost opted for fake turf, but the price was beyond his reach.

The price, including installation, can run between $6 and $12 a square foot. The upside is that the new soft, lifelike grass can last up to 20 years. The downside: It can turn hot in the sun and fade over time.

"It looks like real grass, and more people are inclined to use it," said Chris Doherty, president of Synthetic Turf Source, a manufacturer based in Orlando, Fla. "Over the past two years, it's really taken off in Los Angeles."

Natural preference

Sosa, whose SoCal Synthetic Turf installs about 15 fake lawns a week, estimated there were about 50 companies installing roughly 500 lawns a week in the L.A. region.

"People don't want to work to keep their grass green -- and water is an issue," he said. "Our business has increased 100percent over the past year."

Not everyone, however, might want plastic grass or to banish the sweet smell of fresh-cut sod.

The DWP, which gives away shade and fruit trees and encourages drought-resistant plants, offers no incentives for artificial turf.

With fake grass, "you don't get the benefits of air quality from something natural," said Kimberly Hughes, a DWP spokeswoman for its Green L.A. program. "Natural landscaping ... sustains a natural ecosystem."

The Thomas Payne Foundation, which has sold low-water landscaping at its Sun Valley nursery for 40 years, said more and more residents are "going native."

"Every year, more and more all-natural plants are sold," said foundation office manager Margaret Robison. "More people are becoming aware of our diminishing water supply."

Last spring, Carmen Ramos Chandler ripped out her St. Augustine lawn to plant native grasses at her Studio City home, which burned up in the summer heat. She and her husband, Malcolm Venolia, have replenished their yard with native trees, sages and ceanothis.

They now water no more than three times a week, at 15 minutes a shot.

"Our DWP bill is smaller," said Ramos Chandler, 44. "(But) we're not doing this to save money. The reality is, we're doing this because it's the right thing to do."

Instead of landscaping, Eric Dubin went for dirt.

"We don't water at all, because I don't feel the need to," said Dubin, 42, staring at his bare front yard in Winnetka. "My neighbors are probably angry. It's a substantial (water) savings."

Before his ersatz turf, McMinn's water bill was $200 a month. He's now cut his water use in half, he said, in addition to not having to pay a gardener.

The former controller for the New York Yankees figures he'll recoup the $10,000 cost of his new lawn in seven or eight years.

"I just get my blower and blow it off," said McMinn, whose eight grandchildren roughhouse on his lawn. "The timing has been great. This saves water, which equals to saving dollars.

"Being green pays. It's helping the planet, the ecology. (And) it saves you money."

dana.bartholomew(at)dailynews.com

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For information on waterwise gardening, go to bewaterwise.com/knowledge01.html. For city incentives on water savings, go to ladwp.com.

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2 photos, box

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(1 -- color) Tom McMinn blows debris off his artificial lawn on Donna Avenue in Northridge on Friday. Tired of the cost of watering a lawn, McMinn went faux two months ago.

(2 -- color) Artificial grass is cleaned by a blower at Tom McMinn's house in Northridge. McMinn now saves on his water bill.

Tina Burch/Staff Photographer

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