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• Gays in limbo due to Proposition 8

• Nava unseats Johnson in LUSD board race

• Sieglock holds a slim lead, but District 10 race still undecided

• Payne, Shelton appear to be Galt council winners

• Challengers win three of four seats on Galt school boards

• Galt likely to get more police officers, but vote is close

• Urie beats Morris to become new judge in San Joaquin County

• Assembly 15, 26 split between parties; Lungren wins re-election

• Council OKs seeking grant funds for fix of Pig's Lake bank erosion

• Lockeford School construction to continue

• School districts hired Halloween security

November 2nd, 2009

• Deputies name suspect in fatal Acampo shooting

November 7th, 2009

• Lodi High graduate was at Fort Hood

• Lining up for flu shots in Lodi

• Tour packs buses as birdwatchers admire Sandhill cranes

• City of Lodi staff looking into possibility of limiting number of taco trucks

• Daytime thieves targeting Lodi homes

• Lodi High School rally featured on 'Good Day Sacramento'

• Out of control

• Homicide suspect Anthony Hubbard arraigned

• Regional Roundup

• New Lodi Memorial rule to combat spread of H1N1: Visitors must be older than 16

November 6th, 2009

• Short sales make up nearly half of Lodi market

• Regional Roundup

• Lodi man accused of smuggling drugs, weapons for inmates at state prison

• 'I-5 Strangler' sentenced to 6 terms of life

• Jury convicts Acampo man of torture, assault of his girlfriend

• Young girl is 200,000th person to assemble AIDS, HIV care kit

• Woman in wheelchair struck by car

November 5th, 2009

• A lower Lodi Lake

• Streetside scarecrows

• San Joaquin County considers moratorium on new Williamson Act contracts

• Speakers address Lodi Unified School District budget shortfalls, plea to keep programs

• Armed robbers still targeting Lodi shops

• Regional Roundup

• California voters have final say over $11 billion water bond

• Weekend bus service to continue until Lodi City Council makes decision

• Paul Tebbel shines spotlight on sandhill cranes

• Your complete guide to Sandhill Crane Festival

• David Diskin is first to give an invocation under new city of Lodi policy

• Man wanted in Acampo homicide gives up to San Joaquin County Sheriff's detectives

November 4th, 2009

• Candle fire

• Rep. Jerry McNerney sets telephone town hall for Thursday

• Jason Behrmann is unanimously named Galt's city manager

• Regional Roundup

• Galt City Council argues over ordinance hiring residents

• San Joaquin County sues state over prison hospital planned for Stockton

• Big win for Allen Baroni in reclamation election

• California sends Democratic loyalist John Garamendi to Congress

• Bicycling father raising awareness of teen suicide

• Lodi City Council weighs raising fares to restore some bus service

November 3rd, 2009

• 500 attend service for Kyle Coumas

• Correction

• Galt considers ordinance that would require city contractors to hire locally

• Regional Roundup

• Have you seen a missing guide dog puppy in Lodi?

• Galt man dies after weekend Highway 12 crash

• Jason Behrmann is top candidate for Galt city manager

• Deputies name suspect in fatal Acampo shooting

• Clarification

November 2nd, 2009

• Downtown Lodi trick or treat

• Public Meetings

• Correction

• Kyle Coumas funeral today

• 27-year-old man shot to death Saturday night in front of Acampo home

• Regional Roundup

• Group investigates reports of haunting

• Sandhill Cranes Festival comes to Lodi next weekend

• Lamborghini lovers gather for show, fine wine, luncheon in Woodbridge

• Lodi's 'Biggest Loser' Christy Richesin runs 5K Halloween race

The following stories have received the most reader comments during the last 7 days.

• Bible is entwined with American civic life (135)
• I predict: A conservative tide will rise in 2010 (74)
• David Diskin is first to give an invocation under new city of Lodi policy (70)
• The Treaty of Tripoli hoax (60)
• Universal health care solves big problems (54)
• Here's what my father knew about the assassination of JFK (35)
• Stuck in neutral? Hardly! (35)
• Words from our forefathers (27)
• City of Lodi staff looking into possibility of limiting number of taco trucks (24)
• Majority cannot deprive the minority (24)

ADVERTISEMENT

Why we might all want to think twice about the virtues of a green, lush lawn

Friends and neighbors have probably been wondering why we have been neglecting the side yard of our house, which is on a corner. I have several excuses. But the biggest reason is that we haven't figured out what to do with it.

My neighbor across the street has advice: Water more frequently and fertilize. That's what she does. She'd be surprised to know that I am as troubled by her yard as she is by mine. Anyone who understands what is going on with water around here can never look at a lush green lawn the same way again.

Even though we are surrounded by rivers in San Joaquin County, we have been getting our water from underground for over a hundred years. Mokelumne River water largely goes to the East Bay Area. The Tuolumne River keeps San Francisco's Golden Gate Park green. Stanislaus and San Joaquin River water gets diverted upstream for agricultural and urban users in the southern Central Valley. By the time the San Joaquin River gets to the Delta, it has become what Sen. Mike Machado has described as a huge septic system carrying waste generated by cities and agriculture.

Of the water that makes it to the Delta — mostly from the Sacramento River — the majority goes out to sea, but the next largest percentage goes to the South Bay Area, to farmers on the west side of the Central Valley, and to Southern California for urban use and agriculture.

Diverting water this way did not seem like a problem in the early part of the 20th century. San Joaquin County was mostly agricultural and the aquifer — the underground layer of material that holds water — was high enough for wells to provide adequate water for farmers and other residents. In fact, most of us have heard how once upon a time, Lodi was the watermelon capital of the world because the roots of the melons could find water so close to the surface.

But that water table has fallen as more water is taken out than gets back in from above-ground sources. According to Frank Beeler, Lodi's water superintendent, the water table measured at wells within the city dropped a total of 15.2 feet from 1962 to 2007.

When the house I live in near Hutchins Street Square was built in 1927, they couldn't dig the basement deep enough to make the ceiling normal height because the water table was so high. But just since 1962, City Well No. 2 Downtown has gone from 36 feet below the surface to 52.9 feet below. Most city wells have registered similar drops.

Lodi had a plan to reduce our use of groundwater and meet part of the city's needs by buying Mokelumne River water from the Woodbridge Irrigation District and treating it in a plant near Lodi Lake. The City Council was going to pay for that plant with developer fees. Then the housing market plunged. We're still paying Woodbridge Irrigation District $60,000 a month, though. We're "banking" the water — not actually putting it anywhere, but paying for the right to draw it later when we have the facility to treat it.

Another way to reduce our use of groundwater is to use water more efficiently, and that is where my yard, and everyone else's, enters the picture.

In my last column, I noted that agriculture is the biggest user of water in California. But according to the Department of Water Resources, the biggest "crop" in the state is — grass.

And every week or so, we harvest that crop and send it to landfills.

Traditional landscaping, especially grass, is thirsty. Outdoor watering accounts for close to 40 percent of total residential water use statewide, according to an estimate by the Pacific Institute. In the northern San Joaquin Valley where we live, water experts say the figure is closer to 50 percent.

In addition to requiring a lot of water, traditional landscaping uses nitrogen-rich fertilizers and pesticides. These chemicals create lush and weed-free growth, but they also get into the groundwater, make their way to streams and rivers, and kill fish.

One more problem with lawns is that unless you have a very carefully adjusted sprinkler system, a lot of your water is ending up in the gutter. There, it picks up litter, dirt, spilled oil and fuel, and other chemical contaminants, which it carries down the storm drains. The sewage we generate from indoor uses like toilets and sinks gets treated before it is released into rivers. Run-off from city streets should be treated also, but it is difficult and expensive to do this.

In the neighborhood where I live, a water-efficient landscape of rocks and cactus just wouldn't fit. Fortunately, there are plenty of alternatives. Many kinds of plants can stay green with much less water than lawns need. They don't require a lot of fertilizer and often don't require weekly maintenance.

UC Extension was able to refer me to just one local person trained in designing water-efficient landscaping. He got his certificate in the Bay Area, where water is currently being rationed, and where residents have paid for years for the amount of water they use.

I want to assure my neighbors and friends that we are consulting him about how to get that neglected side yard looking presentable. But we probably won't be replacing the lawn.

Jane Wagner-Tyack of Lodi is a freelance writer, writing consultant, and former educator, who serves on the board of directors of Restore the Delta (www.restorethedelta.org), a grassroots campaign focused on protecting recreation, agriculture, and the environment in the Delta. You can reach Jane at janetyack@gmail.com.