Synthetic lawns save money on water and maintenance

It wasn't until after her family installed synthetic grass that Thousand Oaks resident Audrey Wilson realized how glad she was her four children were no longer playing in the real stuff.

"We love our synthetic lawn. My 7-year-old daughter doesn't get itchy anymore; there are no bugs, and when the children play in the sprinkler there is no mud to worry about," Wilson said.

When Ken Macaire, owner of Environmental Aesthetics, was asked by one of his Beverly Hills clients to put in a synthetic lawn, he was upset at first, he said.

"I thought, 'That is ridiculous.' I love nature; that's why I do what I do—re-create the natural beauty found in nature. I was appalled."

Macaire said he fell in love with nature as a boy when he visited the Sequoias. And now he earns a living recreating the natural wonders found in forests, by streams and on mountains. His work can be seen at www.rockwork.com.

When he put in his first synthetic lawn, he fell in love again.

"I will never put in another real lawn," he said.

He calls a real, living lawn "an exercise in futility." He emphasizes how it is temporary no matter how hard one works to do it right—weed, water, fertilize and mow.

"It's a big waste of time. The whole thing can go to hell in a handbasket in five days if your sprinkler breaks while you're on vacation," he said.

A synthetic lawn, which costs about $8 to $10 a square foot to install, will look manicured 365 days a year, he said.

If you want more living landscape, plant more trees, he suggested.

"When we started talking about water shortages and taxes, I got even more serious about it," he said.

Thousand Oaks has requested residents and businesses to voluntarily cut back on daily water usage.

"When a vital commodity such as water becomes scarce, we must find ways to protect it, lessen our need or pay more for what we use," said JoAnne Kelly, water resource manager for the city.

"The water supply outlook is not good. We want to do all we can to work with the public to conserve so we can avoid enforced restrictions next year," Public Works Director Mark Watkins said.

With 70 percent of water consumption taking place outside, simple ways to save water include sweeping driveways and sidewalks instead of hosing them down; installing drip irrigation, an effective and efficient way to water plants and reduce runoff; and adding weather-based "smart" sprinklers that know when to water or not. Also, watering should take place in the early morning or evening.

Macaire also suggests installing drip systems. His customers have told him they've saved a lot on their water bills after putting in the synthetic lawns, he said.

He's also installed the lawns in dog runs and has found pets don't mind not having the real stuff.

Those who ask him how it holds up over time are reminded the NFL plays football on synthetic grass.

"The company says it will last 25 to 30 years. It came out in the mid-1980s, and those lawns still look the same, so I think it could last longer," Macaire said.

In a Nutshell

How much water do you use?

You can check your water usage for the last three years online. Visit the city's website, www.toaks.org, and enter "utility billing" in the search box near the top. Tips to conserve water can be found on the city's website as well as on the city's local government television channel—TOTV. Additional water conservation information can be found on the Metropolitan Water District's website at www.bewaterwise.com.