[Happydaz]

Originally Posted by wkstephan

IMO a better solution is for The Villages to allow homes to install artificial turf in place of grass lawns. Artificial turf has come a long way from the bristlely indoor-outdoor carpet that was available years ago. Today it looks very much like natural grass, needs very little maintenance, and lasts more than a decade. It needs no water or fertilizer, impervious to pet urine, insects and diseases, unaffected by soil conditions, and it looks great year round and year after year.

For an area the size of The Villages, allowing artificial turf to replace grass could result in substantial conservation of water.

I can understand why use of artificial turf was prohibited in the old days when it would have detracted from the aesthetics of the community; but I am convinced that the use of modern artificial turf for lawns in The Villages would be an improvement in aesthetics and a value enhancer…

Artificial turf would cause a lot of rain runoff and contribute to flooding. It would also result in higher temperatures in our neighborhoods as grass acts like a giant air conditioner, lowering surface temperatures. We already have people using landscape fabric and rocks in their shrub borders and if we start covering our lawn areas with artificial turf we will have an environment that is almost completely biologically dead. No insects, no birds, nothing alive at all. If you want a nice lawn just drive around and find someone who has a nice lawn and ask them what they do to keep it that way. Organic fertilizers and top dressings may help grow a nice lawn. The constant use of insecticides, fungicides and chemical fertilizers kills soil organisms that support healthy turfgrass. Again many of the yards in the Villages are biologically dead. Look up the soil food web on YouTube and you will see how to develop healthy soil. You need healthy bacteria, beneficial fungi, nematodes, earthworms, etc. to have a healthy green lawn. Chemicals turn our lawns into “dead zones.”

[Thaxxx]

Oops

[Sandy and Ed]

So I have nothing to add to this string but the following excellent observation got me to thinking. This water is constantly being recycled picking up steadily increasing concentrations of possibly cancer producing chemicals being dumped into water that feeds our irrigation systems. Seems like there should be some periodic testing of that water for health reasons.

“ As far as the pond water….well, there’s all kinds of chemicals that run off into them…..from the golf course grounds crew treating the courses for weeds, the contractor that treats them (the ponds) for algae and submersed vegetation, the lawn care company (and homeowner / Villager) applying fertilizer or what ever…….it all runs down the street into the culverts that eventually lead to the ponds, that inevitably supply the water that we use to irrigate our lawns and shrubs.”

[Altavia]

Originally Posted by Sandy and Ed

So I have nothing to add to this string but the following excellent observation got me to thinking. This water is constantly being recycled picking up steadily increasing concentrations of possibly cancer producing chemicals being dumped into water that feeds our irrigation systems. Seems like there should be some periodic testing of that water for health reasons.

“ As far as the pond water….well, there’s all kinds of chemicals that run off into them…..from the golf course grounds crew treating the courses for weeds, the contractor that treats them (the ponds) for algae and submersed vegetation, the lawn care company (and homeowner / Villager) applying fertilizer or what ever…….it all runs down the street into the culverts that eventually lead to the ponds, that inevitably supply the water that we use to irrigate our lawns and shrubs.”

Reclaimed water is thoroughly treated to remove harmful organisms and substances, such as bacteria, viruses and heavy metals, so it can be reused.

Village Community Development Districts

"Please note that any reclaimed wastewater that is used for golf course irrigation is treated and meets the public access reuse standards established and required by the Florida Department of Environmental Protection."

Summary of Florida's Water Reuse Guideline or Regulation for Potable Water Reuse | US EPA

[PugMom]

Originally Posted by village dreamer

they say its because of el nino...........ha ha ha

everything is a cause of it

[Maker]

Originally Posted by Happydaz

Artificial turf would cause a lot of rain runoff and contribute to flooding.”

Artificial turf is very porous, and water goes right through it into the sand below.
It is not a plastic sheet, or concrete.
Just like a yard of rocks allows all the water that falls on it to pass directly into the sand under it.

[Velvet]

Can you imagine how hot artificial turf could get in the blazing sun?

[Michael G.]

I had numerous yard care people in all my years here in Florida, and one thing I can safely say is that
if your lawn is unsatisfactory and you mention it to them, they all blame it on the homeowner.

Your watering to much.
Your not watering enough.
You should use aeration.
Your sprinklers aren't adjusted right.
Your using the wrong sprinkler heads.
Your dog is ugly.
Your wife is ugly.

[Altavia]

Originally Posted by Michael G.

I had numerous yard care people in all my years here in Florida, and one thing I can safely say is that
if your lawn is unsatisfactory and you mention it to them, they all blame it on the homeowner.

Your watering to much.
Your not watering enough.
You should use aeration.
Your sprinklers aren't adjusted right.
Your using the wrong sprinkler heads.
Your dog is ugly.
Your wife is ugly.

LOL - The Truth :-)