More Costa Mesans going lawnless during drought

Lane and Linda Koluvek recently had a rude awakening when seeing their water bill.

Usage at their Costa Mesa home had skyrocketed to a degree that, for Lane, “It just kind of knocked me off my feet.”

The couple decided it was finally time to do something about their nearly 2,000-square-foot front yard and its grassy expanses.

Mesa Water District resource efficiency specialist Justin Finch arrived Tuesday at the Koluveks’ Tabago Place home.

The Koluveks told him they wanted to take out the St. Augustine grass/Bermudagrass mix and its 1960s-era sprinkler system. In its place would be newer sprinklers and a variety of water-wise alternatives: succulents, stones, pavers and water-efficient grass.

Doing so, according to Finch, makes the Koluveks eligible for about $4,000 in rebates, plus the money they could get by replacing the sprinklers with more efficient models.

The turf removal program, a partnership of Mesa Water, the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California and Municipal Water District of Orange County, awards up to $2 per square foot to remove lawns.

Mesa Water District officials say more and more ratepayers, like the Koluveks, are participating in such programs amid California’s record drought.

In 2013, Mesa Water averaged one application a month for the turf removal program. This summer, that average jumped to seven, according to district spokeswoman Noelle Collins.

“The residents are hearing the message and appropriately responding,” said Mesa Water General Manager Paul Shoenberger.

Though conservation is always encouraged, Mesa Water officials stressed that the service area — Costa Mesa and portions of Newport Beach and unincorporated Orange County — is comparatively well-positioned to handle the state’s ongoing drought.

The district has a low rate of water loss — the amount of supply lost before it reaches ratepayers. At 4.5%, Mesa Water’s rate is among the lowest in North America, Collins said.

But, Shoenberger stressed, such numbers don’t mean everything’s rosy.

“Presently, the district is in good shape,” he said, “but we need to do our share, use less water and be vigilant.”

Mesa Water ratepayers must continue complying with state guidelines that regulate outdoor water use, such as not hosing off hard surfaces like driveways and sidewalks.

The district will also continue to offer its free “house call” service to check for leaks.

“A lot of water is wasted when people have leaky toilets, faucets or fixtures,” Shoenberger said.

Mesa Water’s supply is also remaining steady, he noted.

It comes from two primary sources: about 70% from a clear-water aquifer that several Orange County agencies use; and the remaining 30% mostly from a deep aquifer whose water is pumped from a plant off Gisler Avenue, the Mesa Water Reliability Facility.

The result, officials say, is an efficient local water supply that doesn’t import from Northern California or the Colorado River.

Because of the drought, Shoenberger noted, the clear-water aquifer does have less water, though pumping amounts have not yet been reduced.

The deep aquifer, whose water comes out amber-colored but is changed to become colorless, is unaffected by the drought, he said. At current pumping rates, that supply could last for the next 200 years, Shoenberger said.