To water or not to water.
In what we call a case of classic dilemma, Los Angeles city authorities have imposed fines of up to $500 on people who waste water. However, this same government is urging people to water their lawns appropriately or pay a fine of up to $500!
Therefore residents have now found a way of evading this dilemma. They are all dying their lawns green.
The current drought in California has been the most severe in the history of the state. Earlier this year, Governor Jerry Brown called on all the residents of the sate to cut down water consumption by 20 percent. Several sanctions were introduced including one where residents could water lawns only twice a week.
But with that kind of restriction, the greens are going to go brown and then the city is going to come after you again. Michael and Laura Korte, residents of Glendora, received a flyer from the city officials last Tuesday warning they had 60 days to have their lawn look like a picture of a lush green patch shown in the flyer or pay a fine of $100 to $500 and be charged with "criminal prosecution."
"It just seems like we're in the middle of a rock and a hard place right now," Laura told KTVQ.com.
"Yeah, it was like bizarre world," Michael agreed. "It was very strange."
But several other residents are now resorting to dying their lawns, just like dying hair.
"As soon as the water sanctions hit and as soon as people find their water bills rising they're looking for ways to cut back on their expenses and that's when they start calling," Kerry McCoy, a lawn painter told Fox.
McCoy adds that the dye is vegetable-based and is therefore harmless to children or pet. The dye makes the lawns look lush without having to water them and also helps residents cut water costs. The lawns will need to be repainted every three months and the color will wash away by the time the monsoon arrives.
"It [the grass] doesn't really die completely. It just goes a little bit dormant during the hot summer months. Then when the winter-time comes, when we start getting the rain, hopefully, it'll start to turn green again," McCoy explained.
But painting the grass green is not the solution to the real problem. According to a latest study by the University of California, the state will accrue total costs of about $2.2 billion due to the drought and will also have to deal with the loss of "17,100 seasonal and part-time jobs," CBS news reports.
