A task force is preparing to ask the county government and area cities to endorse a regional shift from lush, thirsty landscaping to drier plants in the wake of a stubborn drought and soaring population growth.
To accomplish the shift, however, the 15-member task force is likely to lean on the carrot rather than stick to get results.
The group, launched last spring by County Supervisor Marion Ashley, is scheduled to meet next week to finalize a proposed resolution that could go to the Board of Supervisors for action as early as Dec. 14 and later to city councils, said Rick Hoffman, a legislative assistant for Ashley.
Hoffman said the resolution will reflect the belief of task force members that western Riverside County families need to conserve more, and that home builders need to help them do that by installing low-water landscaping and more-efficient sprinkler systems.
At the same time, he said, the members recognize that county and city governments need to set an example by planting landscapes that are efficient and attractive.
The effort comes as Riverside County's population presses toward the 2 million mark and as Southern California finds itself in the sixth year of a drought.
Borre Winckel, a committee member and executive director for the Riverside County chapter of the Building Industry Association of Southern California, said the panel won't sound the alarm and seek radical measures such as those in Nevada, where agencies are paying homeowners to rip out turf from their lawns.
"I don't think we're prepared to say that the sky is falling," Winckel said.
He said the panel is not suggesting that people should be told they can't have grass or must grow a certain type of plant.
"We are wary of toying with consumer demand," Winckel said. "The consumer still wants green yards for the kids to play on."
Winckel, however, said the group does favor stepped-up educational efforts to inform residents that there is a limited water supply being stretched by the growth boom and lifestyles.
Hoffman said the message is simple: "We live in the desert. We live on imported water. And that's a fixed amount."
Besides asking county supervisors and city council members to adopt a general resolution to move toward efficient landscaping, Hoffman said, a study may be launched to examine existing water conservation laws on county and city books to determine if they should be rewritten or new ones passed.
Committee members said potential recommendations could include:
- Rebates for builders who install water-efficient landscapes and sprinklers that shut off in rain and reduce watering in cool weather.
- Tiered rates for water consumption above a certain amount to discourage wasteful use.
- Increased reliance on recycled waste water in areas such as parks and golf courses.
- Marketing efforts encouraging home improvement stores and nurseries to sell more plants using less water.
- Educational efforts to inform homeowners what shrubs and trees use less water and add color. "A lot of people think of cactus and rocks, but it's not that at all," said Randy Record, committee chairman and a member of the Metropolitan Water District and Eastern Municipal Water District boards.
The panel, Record said, is trying to cultivate a "cultural" change in which people are conscious of the limited water supply and willing to plant items that fit the area's semiarid climate.
He said there are political benefits to be gained. The region is more likely to find sympathetic ears in places like Arizona, Nevada and Northern California that compete for the same water if residents here do their part to conserve, Record said.
At the same time, Record said, there are benefits to be gained by homeowners.
"If you lose less water, it puts money in your pocket," he said.
Tim Skrove, a Metropolitan Water District spokesman who has attended the committee meetings, said there is an adequate water supply for the next 20 years.
"But clearly, with the kind of population growth we are having, and with that growth spreading increasingly into drier parts of the world, it's prudent that we use water as efficiently as we can," Skrove said.
