Editorial: HOAs must change ways
Water woes should make lush lawns a homeowner option at best

Southern Californians have done much better conserving water than they are usually given credit for; demand in the region is about the same as it was in the early 1990s, despite a population increase of 20 percent. Demand has also remained level in San Diego County during that same time span despite even faster population growth.

Nevertheless, all the various efficiency measures and improved individual water-use habits haven’t come close to solving the fundamental problem of Southern California and the Southwest in general: its arid climate and lack of readily available water. This is why state lawmakers in November adopted a measure mandating a 20 percent reduction in per-capita water use in urban areas over the coming decade. It’s also why the giant Metropolitan Water District of Southern California – which supplies water districts serving 19 million people from San Diego to Ventura to Riverside – is in the middle of a two-year, 31 percent rate increase.

Against this backdrop, we welcome a bill by Assemblywoman Lori Saldaña, D-San Diego, requiring homeowners associations to allow installation of artificial turf that meets basic design and quality standards. Many of the estimated 6,000 HOAs in San Diego County have adopted thoughtful policies that acknowledge the region’s long-term water-supply problem. But some HOAs – concerned about aesthetics and property values – need not just a nudge but a shove. They should be required to accept not just artificial turf but drought-resistant ground-cover vegetation.

The era of inexpensive, plentiful water is dead. In the future, San Diegans will look back at 2010 and shake their heads in amazement at the fact that 60 percent of household water consumption went to outdoor uses.

The current water status quo simply can’t endure. Saldaña’s bill amounts to an acknowledgement of this basic truth.