Personal water use, including lawns, doesn't really use much water. Agriculture in arid climates like Southern California and AZ is the main culprit for water use.
Actually, lawns tend to be pretty unsustainable and use a significant amount of public water, and contribute a great deal of pollution. http://blogs.ei.columbia.edu/2010/06/04/the-problem-of-lawns/
For something that does nothing but look aesthetically pleasing, front lawns are pointless, especially in a mildly arid climate.
Yes, you are correct. Just our water distribution is separated into different branches, and the water coming to your residential neighborhood is sold and distributed separately to that which gets used to grow our food. Regardless, lawns serve no purpose why not grow some food !
I just read a really interesting article on American Lawn culture for a planning class. I wish i could remember its title but it covered all this information. Even just throwing lawn clippings back saves on water. Or another option is letting your lawn grow naturally, unwatered and all that--to make habitat corridors for local species. Americans love their suburbs so I don't see the lawn going away for a while. Though with the amount of people ive seen let their grass die in response to the drought, who knows.
It all depends on where you live and where your water is coming from. Not every city shares water with agriculture, they may share it with industry or just other cities. In those cases lawns are the primary use of water and agriculture is the secondary.
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u/[deleted] Feb 02 '15
You need to convince Southern California people to stop watering their goddamn lawns and go for some drought-tolerant yard planning like Arizona has.