Early Florida settlers weren't known for their lush, green lawns. Even in the 1920s, many Floridians raked their sand yards, keeping them free of leaves and debris.
But somewhere along the way, the idea caught and held that Florida living meant verdant, green landscapes with thick turf grass and tropical plants. Never mind that most soils are anything but ideal. Not only does the battle to keep a lush lawn frustrate some of the most determined green thumbs, it wastes tremendous amounts of water.
"We're addicted to putting too much water on plants that shouldn't be there in the first place," said Charles Lee, advocacy director for Audubon of Florida.
At least half of the water used by Florida homes never actually goes into the home. It's used on lawns and landscaping. That's why experts say the biggest water savings would come if Floridians used smarter gardening techniques.
With so many straws in the state's water supply, the whole concept of outdoor irrigation has to change, said Keith Riger, city engineer and public services center director for DeLand. The problem is people are "used to their property values being affected by the quality of the landscaping."
"If people were more attuned to what their lawns need, I think they'd be surprised at how much water they could save," Riger said. "As the cost of water goes up, people will have no choice but to change their concept of outdoor irrigation."
Volusia County adopted a landscape ordinance in 2004. Watered down some from the staff's original proposal after a three-year effort, it limited the amount of high-volume irrigation and required half the plants on a lot to be drought tolerant or use less water than traditional landscaping. But, it only applied to new construction or "re-landscaping" projects. County officials say they plan to try to beef up the ordinance sometime next year and tackle a number of other water conservation measures.
A new statewide model landscape code has been written for new development and re-landscaping, said Bruce Adams, with the Florida Section of the American Water Works Association. The standards would reduce the amount of water applied to a typical landscape by 50 percent to 80 percent by requiring native or drought-resistant plants and smaller lawns.
Charles Gauthier with the state Department of Community Affairs expects to see landscaping and lawns shrinking across Florida.
With local governments being pushed to do more conservation, homes will evolve away from "these huge expansive lawns," said Gauthier, director of the department's division of community planning. "I do see them going away, because land is expensive, yards are smaller and water is more expensive."
Economics will drive changes in the development industry, said Herky Huffman of Enterprise, a longtime Realtor and a board member on the St. Johns River Water Management District.
"If they're going to stay in the business, they're going to have to change," Huffman said. "When you look at entrances to some of the developments, my word, the landscaping and the fountains. Who can imagine the thousands of gallons of water they use to keep the things looking good?"
However, it is possible to have a lush lawn without using so much water, said Adams, water use efficiency committee chairman for the water works association. He frequently uses his own Lake Worth lawn as an example.
With the same turf grass as his neighbors, Adams said, he waters only once or twice a year. Instead, he uses a combination of measures, such as efficient irrigation design, natural shading and adding materials to his soil to help it hold water.
A lot of landscapers think the more water you dump on a plant the better, but that's just not true, said Fred Follett, a certified irrigation contractor in Deltona. A Water Sense partner with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Follett said many products, such as plant sprays, can be used to save water.
He likes soil moisture sensors, which have been proven to reduce outdoor water use. He said plants can drink only so much at a time, and dirt can hold only so much water. A sensor lets the sprinklers know when the plant and soil conditions are right.
But, Follett said, the sensors clash with the rules on limited watering hours because they kick systems on when the soil needs it, not when the local government says it's OK.
Still, though new landscaping and irrigation requirements are "a great idea," said Bill Kerr, a former water district board member, he expects to see a lot of resistance.
"People don't like being told they can only put in (certain) kinds of plants," Kerr said. Like Huffman and Riger, he expects the interest in water-saving landscapes to increase with the cost of water.
