State bans watering of ‘non functional’ lawns around businesses

SACRAMENTO — Californians can expect to see more yellow grass around hospitals, hotels, office parks and industrial centers after water regulators voted Tuesday to ban watering of “nonfunctional” turf in commercial areas.

The State Water Resources Control Board also moved to order all the state’s major urban water providers to step up their conservation efforts.

Parks, sports fields, golf courses, residential lawns and other areas where people regularly gather aren’t covered under the rules the board approved Tuesday. The restrictions only prohibit potable water being applied to “nonfunctional” turf around the state’s “commercial, industrial, and institutional sectors.” The ban also doesn’t prohibit Californians from watering trees, which help cool urban areas. Banning decorative lawns would save enough water to supply 780,000 households each year, according to the governor’s office.

The other portion of the regulations the water board approved on Tuesday requires nearly all of the state’s local water districts to move to the “Level 2” tier in their drought response plans or reduce watering to no more than two days a week.