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The Dallas-Fort Worth region wants to spend billions of dollars to secure long-term water supplies as its population continues to explode. But critics say conservation in the region, known for its lush lawns, must come first.

From the Texas Tribune: 

DALLAS — On the northern edge of the city limits, where residents have been subject to watering restrictions for more than a year, a cozy home on less than half an acre has one of the greenest lawns around.

The house is the first in Dallas to receive the Environmental Protection Agency’s “WaterSense” label, the agency’s stamp of approval for water efficiency. It is also the only such home in the country that is open to the public for tours and demonstrations. And the Dallas-Fort Worth region — one of the country’s fastest-growing and thirstiest — may be the most fitting location.

In a place where green lawns decked with water-sucking plants like St. Augustine grass and holly bushes are a status symbol, Dotty Woodson, a water resource specialist with Texas A&M University System’s agriculture education arm, said visitors are amazed to learn that the home’s lush zoysia palisades grass only needs watering once a week in the summertime.
“The first thing they say is, ‘Well gosh, here it is August and look at how much we have in bloom!’” she said.

But such outreach programs have yet to make a sizeable dent in the high household water consumption in North Texas. Environmentalists argue that the region must do more to conserve water before spending the proposed tens of billions of dollars needed to build costly new reservoirs or pipelines. Continue Reading →