It’s easy to talk about water conservation, but it’s more difficult to do something about it.
Currently, many western states, with the exception of Washington and Oregon and northern California, receive less than 15 inches of precipitation per year.
A quick tour of most of the cities of the western arid regions will show lush lawns, lots of sculptured vegetation, and lots of water use.
These lush lawns and sculptured greenery are considered "American" style. However, during the 19th and early 20th centuries, this type of gardening and the plants it required was "imported" from the eastern seaboard of the U.S., which in turn was imported from Victorian England by the burgeoning middle class of western cities.
Both the eastern seaboard and England, as well as much of mainland Europe, receive high amounts of precipitation annually - enough rainfall and snow to support high levels of vegetation, and to allow gardening styles that were acceptable under those conditions.
However, water is the lifeblood of the west's environment. States like Utah, Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado, Montana, southern California, Nevada and Wyoming now have many landscapes which contain non-native plant species which are adapted to wetter regions of the U.S. and Europe.
These non-native species guzzle almost half of the western states' municipal water supplies.
As the population of the western U.S. grows, more strains are placed on the environment. Only through serious water conservation can the western United States even consider preserving the environment, minimize water diversion projects and decrease pollution.
Debunking Some Myths
- Myth 1. If we conserve enough water, we won't need to find more. Wrong! Even if we reduce watering urban landscapes, the population is still growing. This would make developing new water necessary. Conservation can delay the requirement, but it cannot stop it.
- Myth 2. Water suppliers will lose revenue if we conserve water. Wrong! If a water supplier becomes conservation minded, and uses a rate structure that is conservation oriented, it will have the money it needs to meet its needs. This can be accomplished by charging a base rate (to cover fixed costs such as capital investment, bonds, etc), and a second rate for how much water is used.
- Myth 3. If I use water conservation methods in my garden and my yard, does that mean I can only use rocks and cactus? No. Water conservation doesn't mean that people use no water on their landscapes. It simply means that they become "waterwise" about using water. There's no doubt that by using only native plants that require little or no extra watering, a person can have a beautiful and colorful yard or garden. However, limited areas of highly-watered areas are consistent with water conservation.
- Myth 4. Building and maintaining a water-conserving garden costs way too much. That's not true. Building and maintaining waterwise gardens can cost much less to build and to maintain than "traditional" lawns that must be mowed weekly. Avoiding expensive automatic irrigation, use of mulch, and other practices can drastically cut costs and maintenance.
- Myth 5. I just think using water conservation methods will produce a boring, monotonous garden. Wrong. You can use any style you like. You can have a tropical landscape that used less water, desert landscapes, lush mountain landscapes, even eastern, Victorian-style landscapes.
- Myth 6. Waterwise plants are hard to get. Not at all. It's easy to get penstemmons (in fact, birds drop the seeds in my garden, and I let them come up naturally. Gaillardia, purple coneflower, gayfeather, Mexican paint brush, morning glory, blue flax, sage, daffodils, and a wide range of other, low-water need plants are readily available.
I hope this answers some questions people may have about desert gardens. I suppose that these answers may give rise to more questions. If so, please email me.
