A long-term water conservation research project sponsored by the
country's third-largest public utility company has put synthetic grass
side-by-side with natural local grasses and xeriscaping. The Salt
River Project (SRP) is sponsoring the research as part of its ongoing
efforts to help give consumers new and better information about water
conservation alternatives.
After more than 1½ years of observing, testing and evaluating several
plots of artificial grass, the SRP says it can give synthetic grass
the thumbs up as a genuine water conservation alternative.
"It seems durable. It hasn't faded. It needs a little maintenance, but
really next to none," Marc Campbell, a water planning analyst with SRP
and director of the research project said. "You need to rake it from
time to time to keep the blades looking full. And you need to hose it
off to remove the dust that inevitably lands on it, with the winds and
dust we get here."
Several reputable companies make the types of artificial grass the SRP
is using in its demonstration project. Among the nationally recognized
companies are SynLawn, and NewGrass, Inc.
Campbell said the SRP had a few very basic questions it wanted
answered about artificial grass that led to the research project.
"We wanted to know, how it would perform in our extreme summer heat?"
Campbell said. "Would it fade? Exactly what kind of maintenance does
it require?"
The decision to research artificial grass along with other landscaping
options was a direct response to what SRP was hearing from consumers
about what they liked – and didn't like – when it came to changing the
way they landscape their homes to save water and reduce energy
consumption.
Campbell said an estimated 60 percent of residential use in the Valley
– Phoenix and its surrounding cities – is used on outdoor landscaping
and swimming pools.
"We did consumer focus groups, asking people about water conservation
supplies, landscaping, conservation measures and possible new
programs," Campbell said. "We asked them what they'd like to know
about grass options and about landscaping alternatives."
"We learned that despite our efforts to push xeriscaping, there were a
majority of people that just wanted to have a natural grass
landscape," Campbell said.
SRP said the agency's surveys identified three primary reasons that
homeowners in the greater Phoenix area that SPR serves want a yard
landscaped with a lawn:
• They want it for their children to play on
• They prefer the look of a green lawn compared with the drier, more
native look of xeriscaping
• They are from the Midwest or East Coast and are accustomed to having
natural grass as a residential landscape
SRP also wanted to study synthetic grass as a conservation measure
because it is gaining acceptance as a landscaping alternative in
general, and an increasing number of cities are "starting to consider
it a little more seriously" as well, Campbell said.
"Generally, people are looking at synthetic grass a little more
seriously than they did a couple of years ago," he said. "We want to
give the general public and the cities here in the Valley the
information they need to make their own decisions about whether to use
it and if it's right for them."
Campbell has been keeping tabs on several plots of synthetic grass
that the agency installed at a park in Tempe that SRP owns and
maintains for use by its employees.
The downside to synthetic grass so far, when compared against natural
grass, is that the surface of a synthetic lawn will get hotter under
the sun than natural grass, Campbell said.
The good news, however, is that synthetic grass cooled off quickly
underfoot and has never gotten so hot that it's burned anyone's feet,
Campbell said.
"It cools down immediately in the shade," Campbell said, "It doesn't
retain heat."
On a 110-degree day in Tempe this summer, the surface of the synthetic
turf grasses reached 155 degrees. That compared with 145 degrees for
asphalt, 135 degrees for a xeriscaped plot and 98 degrees for natural
grass.
"You couldn't stand on that 145-degree asphalt without burning your
feet, but the synthetic turf cooled down rapidly under the foot,"
Campbell said.
Associated Link: http://www.grassestimate.com