Monterey homeowner installing artificial grass to save water, money

The newest numbers from the California drought monitor show 82 percent of the state is in extreme drought. Now, homeowners on the Central Coast are taking some extreme measures to save time and eventually money.

“We’re already ahead of the game, saving 80 percent of our water bill every month,” said Geoff Arnold, a resident in Monterey.

How, you ask? With artificial grass. It’s become a drought saver to say the least, said Arnold.

“We have water restrictions now so watering Wednesdays and Saturday mornings and we tried that for a couple of months and the lawn was not surviving,” Arnold said.

Poly Grass, a synthetic grass company, saved Arnold’s backyard, cut down the water use and increased its business by a lot.

“Thank goodness for the drought,” said Jerry Smith, a project manager with Poly Grass. “Homeowners are suffering but we’re thriving.”

Since the Fremont, California-based company started seven years ago, its already amassed nearly 900 separate projects normally carried out in the Bay Area.

Over the last four months, they’ve had six projects pop on the Central Coast from Santa Cruz County to the Monterey Peninsula.

Because the grass is plastic, it doesn’t stain and the company said it’s guaranteed to last for at least 25 years.

Arnold said even though he has a lot of plants around the house, the water use didn’t compare to his lawn.

“I now cannot find a reason why not to do this,” he said.