Mesa asks residents to skip winter lawns to save water

With an ongoing drought and cuts to water supplies, the city of Mesa is asking residents to consider not overseeding for a winter lawn.

Mesa Conservation Coordinator Becky Zusy said it’s not a mandate, merely a suggestion – but the city believes it’s an easy way to save on water.

“If someone wants to overseed their lawn … they have to implement a really extensive watering schedule to establish the seed,” Zusy said. “It’s usually about two weeks, but unfortunately we find people water for many weeks, sometimes months. That’s where overwatering can really come into play.”

That extra watering, even for the standard schedule, adds up.

“If they’re watering per directions during the season of the winter grass,” Zusy explained, “for about every thousand square feet of grass, they’re going to use about 8,000 more gallons [of water].”

Zusy added part of their pitch to residents is that skipping a winter lawn can have other benefits.

“It’s great for the health of your summer grass, your Bermuda grass, to give it a little break,” she said. “We’re talking about saving money … you’re not using the seeds, you’re not having costs for labor, water, gasoline for mowing … and it doesn’t require as much work.”

Water will continue to be top of mind in Arizona. Will requests like this from cities like Mesa continue?

Zusy said it’s hard to know what’s next.

“We do have a water shortage management plan, and there are some steps on there,” Zusy said. “We’ve got an amazing group of people working very hard to make sure our water supply is secure and safe and reliable.”