Some give up on green lawns
By Sara Lin
Advertiser Staff Writer
Helen Yamachika has given up on her front lawn. Even before voluntary water restrictions her crabgrass had turned a dull brown and patches of dirt were starting to show, but she doesn't dare water it. She's afraid of what the neighbors will think.
"I feel so guilty when I water," Yamachika said. "I just let it go."
Eleven days after the Board of Water Supply asked O'ahu residents to water only on Sundays, Tuesdays and Thursdays before 10 a.m. or after 6 p.m., many like Yamachika are resigned to giving up on green lawns and gardens.
"We think that it has been effective already just from the first few days from appeal for water conservation, but we won't know how good it's been until we have a full week," said Denise DeCosta, spokeswoman for the Board of Water Supply. It expects to have those numbers by tomorrow.
Board officials reported that the public had cut back consumption during the week of July 31 to Aug. 6, which included four days in which the public had a chance to respond to the board's request.
Having a parched lawn doesn't bother Mary Molina of Palolo.
"Every summer we get a dry lawn. If it dies, it'll come back," she said. "Drinking water is more important."
Molina tries to follow the watering schedule when she does sprinkle water on her few potted plants. She added, "We have a few plants that I water in between — potted ones — but they don't use that much water anyway."
Some residents with gardens are looking for water-saving alternatives.
Isaac Zukeran of Kaimuki just planted new grass on Saturday, and was shopping at Home Depot yesterday for bags of chicken manure, compost and topsoil.
"Just trying to put in lawn things that retain water," he said.
Marion Imaoka of Wai'anae bought two big bags of gardening moss for the same reason. At home, she washes her rice and saves the water for her garden.
"It's good for plants," she said.
The request to conserve water was also part of the reason John Berestecky recently installed a new irrigation system in his Palolo vegetable garden.
"I've always been water-conscious; now I'm super conscious," Berestecky said. Last week he picked up a micro-drip irrigation kit for $20. He was back at the store this week for more parts.
"It's great, it hardly uses any water and it gets a lot of plants," he said.
Stephen Oda, general manager of The Garden House at Pi'ikoi and Beretania, says it's been business as usual.
"As far as people installing new lawns with drought-resistant grass, people look at the drought as something temporary," he said. "They're hoping it rains next month."
Among the alternatives to watering daily, Oda recommended a DriWater gelpac (a plastic bag with plant food) for potted plants. Sliced open and laid on top of soil next to the plant's stems, it serves as a 30-day water supply. It costs $1.99.
For bigger projects, Oda sells a water-retaining product that resembles Hawaiian salt and goes directly into the soil.
Still, most people seem to be doing the obvious to save water.
"We don't water our lawn as much, said Clayton Kaya of Moanalua. "It's wilting. Sometimes we have to cheat and add little bit of water."
Kelley Ann Chun's roses are wilting, but she won't water outside the schedule. "My roses are in pots, right up against the road," she said. "I come home too late to water sometimes and I don't always have time in the morning. I don't want my neighbors to report me.".
Reach Sara Lin at 525-8054 or e-mail at slin@honoluluadvertiser.com.
