From turf to native, drought-tolerant landscaping

Water restrictions in Santa Cruz have been lifted for the summer. The Santa Cruz Water Department said they will have voluntary restrictions. As we get closer to the dry season should people stop conserving? County officials said no as they’re currently working on a project in Watsonville to save as much water as they can. Water levels in Santa Cruz are higher than they’ve been in years. Kion took to the streets of Pacific Avenue to see if people thought we’re still in a drought, and if they bother saving water.

“Crossing over 17 that reservoir is looking pretty filled but save your water anyways,” said Santa Cruz resident, Ethan Gomez.

Most folks aren’t looking at the higher water levels as a sign of relief.

“Of course we’re still in a drought because we’ve been dry for over five years. And even though we got rain this season it’s not enough,” said Santa Cruz resident, Elene Thompson.

The county agrees that folks need to continue conserving. Monday officials were out in Watsonville to reveal what they’re calling the largest turf replacement project in south county.

“While we have everybody’s attention and after this large drought that we’ve gone through and it still is an ongoing drought we’d like to remind people that when they see the rain and they feel like everything is ok that we need to be thoughtful about this, and plan for the future,” said Director of County Parks, Jeff Gaffney.

The county tore out more than 15,000 square feet of turf at the Watsonville Health Center. Crews added bark, drought tolerant plants, and installed irrigation lines. Crews have been hard at work all day. Weaving irrigation line around the plants and they said it’s expected to save 350,000 gallons of water a year. Officials said that’s enough water saved to supply two households for a year.

“The Pajaro Valley, we are facing a huge water deficit that’s going to be you know something that we are not going to be able to solve we are going to have to be able to conserve a lot of water and this is one of the steps that we have to take,” said Watsonville Mayor, Felipe Hernandez.

The cost of the project was $20,000, but most of the funding came from local donors. County crews hope to wrap up the project by the end of this week. If you’re interested in doing a drought tolerant landscape at your home. Most local water agencies do offer incentive programs.

UPDATE: 4/18/16 6:15PM

Despite a rainy winter, the drought is far from over in California.

Santa Cruz County leaders are hoping to inspire people to consider drought-tolerant landscaping through a new project.

On Monday, Santa Cruz County, City of Watsonville and Pajaro Valley Water Management Agency officials celebrated the project, which replaced 15,500 square feet of turf surrounding the County’s Crestview/Freedom Campus with native, drought-tolerant plants.

According to the County, the public/private landscaping collaboration will save 350,000 gallons of water every year.

KION’s Brandon Castillo will have more on this project Monday night.