As many know the Bay Area along with the rest of California has been plagued by a historic drought.  Although El Nino rains are anticipated by experts later this winter we will likely still be faced with a drought in the coming years and a continued need to reduce water use.  Although Keepin It Green can paint your lawn during the summer and have it looking great it is important to prepare your grass over the winter so that you will have the best results with lawn painting during the summer.

One important thing that can be done now to prepare your lawn to be painted is to seed and repair dead spots.  Many of the lawns Keepin It Green painted throughout the bay area were starting to experience dead spots throughout the lawns.  If you use a gardening service this is as simple as requesting the seed these areas now.  Although the seed will likely not grow much now with the colder weather when the warmer El Nino rain comes the seed should begin to grow and fill in the dead or bar spots in the lawn.  If you do not use a  gardening service this can easily be done yourself.

First prepare the dead, bare, or sparse spots of the lawn by lightly raking to loosen soil.  Then spread seeds in intended areas and apply heavier in the bare spots.  Then lightly cover with potting soil to protect seeds from washing away or being blown away by wind.

This can be done a few times throughout the winter and spring to bring your lawn back to a healthy condition.  Although you will have to cut back on water again during the summer and the lawn will go dormant or turn brown again this will allow for the most amount of grass for Keepin It Green to paint or color green.  Although bare spots are well hidden when painting the lawn green Keepin It Green sees the best result when there is more grass even if it is dormant or brown.

By FENIT NIRAPPIL and SCOTT SMITH Associated Press

Regulators on Friday told San Francisco to stop taking some of the river water it routinely stores in the Hetch Hetchy reservoir.

However, the city is far from having its taps run dry during the drought.

Officials said the cutback orders don't apply to water already stored in the reservoir system, which has enough water to last through two more dry years.

The State Water Resources Control Board ordered the cutback in its latest round of notices informing agencies, corporations and individuals holding water rights that waterways are too dry to meet demand in the drought.

San Francisco depends on snow in the Sierra Nevada melting into the Tuolumne River to supply its drinking water, but the snowpack has largely vanished during the fourth year of the drought.

The city has several century-old claims to the river, including one established when the mayor famously nailed a notice on a tree in 1902. It's not clear how much water San Francisco diverts from the river for storage under the cuts ordered Friday.

"We're very protective of our water rights," said Steven Ritchie, who manages water for San Francisco Public Utilities Commission. "We're going to look very closely at what the state water board does to determine the appropriate course of action."

The Hetch Hetchy reservoir is located 160 miles from the city in the Sierra Nevada and supplies 2.5 million people in the San Francisco Bay Area.

San Francisco gets 85 percent of its water from the reservoir. The densely packed city with few lawns is among the most water frugal in California, with residents using an average of 45 gallons each a day.

Under California's water rights system, the first to stake claims to water as early as Gold Rush days are among the last to face cuts.

The state has already ordered thousands of farmers and others with more recent rights to stop pumping from the Sacramento, San Joaquin and delta watersheds.

The board expanded its cuts earlier this month to more than 100 senior water rights holders in California's agriculture-rich Central Valley.

Some irrigation districts with those prized claims are considering defying the water board and are challenging the cuts in court, saying the agency has no power to regulate their water use.

The latest to sue is the Byron-Bethany Irrigation District, which announced Friday it was seeking to have its curtailment suspended and damages paid. The district supplies water to farmers in three counties and to the 12,000 residents in the community of Mountain House.

"Enough is enough," said Russell Kagehiro, president of the district's board, adding that California farmers feed the state and country. "It is irresponsible and unnecessary. We will fight to ensure that water rights are protected."

The board has the authority to levy $1,000 per-day fines for illegal diversions of water.

It’s fire season amidst a drought in the foothills, and many residents are concerned about how to conserve water, maintain defensible space, and keep up property values with a lush, green landscape. It may seem an impossible task, but some homeowners say they’ve found the answer: painted lawns.

“We see our lawns turn brown, and it makes us depressed,” said Auburn homeowner Nancie Radakovitz.

Nancie and her husband Bill Radakovitz first painted their lawn during a drought in 1977 when they lived in Rocklin.

“They used a different solution back then,” said Bill Radakovitz. “It was more blue. They’ve improved the color.”

The North Auburn residents are pleased with the results of their newly-painted green lawn, which requires no watering or mowing and will last for about three months, they said.

“We walk around the neighborhood,” said Nancie Radakovitz. “We see lawns that are as green as this, but they require too much water.”

Placer County Water Agency recommends that Placer County residents water their lawns no more than twice per week during the summer months and always between 9 p.m. and 9 a.m., according to the agency’s website.

Auburn City Councilman, Daniel Berlant, is set to have his lawn painted next week, he said. As the Public Information Officer for Cal Fire, Berlant often hears residents say they’re afraid to give up watering their lawns during fire season because they want to maintain a defensible fire space around their homes.

“When a (dry) lawn is mowed down, the risk of fire is not high,” Berlant said. “It’s going to burn much slower than high, tall grass.”

A painted lawn or a drought-tolerant landscape is the best bet for foothill residents, Berlant said. He intends remove his grass in the winter when fire season ends.

“I don’t have time to rip out my lawn right now,” he said. “Having it painted means it will still look good and allow me the time to take those steps of  creating a landscape that’s drought-tolerant.”

Berlant and the Radakovitzes both hired Doug Randall of Consolidated Painting to turn their lawns green. Randall, a painting contractor, said he uses a non-toxic paint by a company called LawnLift, which claims that its paint is also non-staining and lasts for up to six months....

TOM MEYER / meyertoons.com June 23, 2015, 12:07AM
Nobody likes a tattletale. But the naa-naa-naa crowd, judiciously deployed, could play a useful role in ensuring California’s toilets continue to flush and its spigots don’t start sputtering dust.

Twitter, YouTube and other social media have been flooded in recent weeks with video and photographic tales of people squandering water amid the one of the state’s worst droughts in recorded history. The phenomenon has its own hashtag (#DroughtShaming) and apps (DroughtShame and VizSAFE). A new reality TV show is probably in development somewhere.

No one is immune from the water watchers. Backyard gardeners, condo owners, celebrities in Beverly Hills — all are getting their ration of grief if they’re not rationing water. Even the beloved Oprah Winfrey has been chastised for alleged gushing.

Critics of the public reprimands wisely warn that the shaming could turn ugly and counterproductive, pitting neighbor against neighbor and provoking the shamed to sprinkle their lawns with abandon in retaliation. And there’s always a risk that the Internet, that ever-reliable source of semi-reliable information, will be used by trolls or neighbors with a lingering grudge over the neighbor’s dog befouling their yard to malign the innocent with bogus “evidence.”

But conventional appeals for responsible water use certainly haven’t done the trick so far. In Rancho Santa Fe, consumption rose 9 percent after Gov. Jerry Brown called for California to cut their water use by 25 percent. One resident expressed an all-too-prevalent belief that “we’re not all equal when it comes to water.”

The habitually selfish will never be convinced that Californians are all in this together. As the drought grows more severe, so do the steps being taken to preserve water. Streams in Sonoma County are drying up, prompting state regulators to impose strict new limits on water use last week to try to prevent salmon and other fish from dying. Public water supplies are at risk, a fact that will become too terrible to ignore in an emergency. Think wildfire. Think earthquake.

Posting photos and videos can be a useful way to raise consciousness — and tip people off to what constitutes excess. Hard as it may be to believe, there are some people who may not be aware that their sprinklers are watering the sidewalk and the road.

Dan Estes, a Los Angeles real estate broker who created the free DroughtShame app, expresses a healthy attitude about using social media to spread the word about responsible water use. He says he’s not interested in confronting people. His app is used to collect info about wretched excess, which he then forwards to the appropriate conservation agency. Government officials can certainly use the help.

Among the those who benefited from Estes’ app was a preschool next to his apartment. The timer was off on its sprinkler, sending water flowing down the street. When notified, the preschool — where tattlers are no doubt discouraged from telling tales, responded by doing the right thing. Within 20 minutes, Estes has told reporters, the sprinklers were off.

Sometimes, maybe most times, that’s all it takes. It all adds up — one photo, one video, one polite “Hey, have you thought about …?” at a time.

By Victoria Colliver

California’s drought surged to the top of Bay Area residents’ concerns, ahead of housing prices and the general high cost of living here, clogged commutes and crime in a new poll released Wednesday.

The issue didn’t crack the top three last year, but the 2015 survey by Bay Area Council Poll shows the state’s long-term drought is changing residents’ thinking. The poll found that 48 percent of residents heavily favor expanding the use of recycled water, turning seawater into drinking water, and building dams and reservoirs.

The annual poll was conducted online by the Oakland public opinion firm EMC Research, which surveyed more than 1,000 residents. It has a margin of error rate of plus or minus 3.1 percentage points.

While 89 percent of respondents said preparing for the drought is an important priority for the region, they said they’re already doing all they can to save water and appeared weary of restricting their water use and raising rates — particularly in San Francisco.

Only in San Francisco did the drought take second to housing costs as the leading problem. The cost of living and housing prices were among the other concerns in Bay Area counties, followed by such issues as traffic, crime and the job market.

San Francisco residents, compared with those in other counties, had the highest opinion of themselves when it came to their water-saving efforts.

Among San Franciscans, 47 percent said they were doing everything they can to conserve and 31 percent said they could do a little more. In Alameda County, just 33 percent of respondents were maxed out trying to save water, and 47 percent said they could boost their conservation efforts.

By age, conservation opinions also differed. Among those over 65, 42 percent of residents said they could be saving more. The poll found just 35 percent of Millennials — those born in the 1980s through the early 2000s — felt the same.

Raising water rates was clearly an unpopular approach, with just 7 percent strongly favoring and 24 percent somewhat favoring increases. In the poll, 63 percent supported building new dams and reservoirs, and 75 percent supported expanding seawater desalination efforts.

Desalination has emerged as a promising yet controversial technology to bring new sources of water to California, a state in the midst of a fourth straight year of drought. Critics cite environmental drawbacks such as harm to marine life, the high cost of building these plants and the potential for mixed success.

Several bills are working their way through the Legislature to help build new dams and reservoirs, but that effort is also fraught with controversy with some questioning whether there are enough good sites left for these projects or if the approach can effectively address the state’s water problem.

On a different issue, nearly half of the poll respondents believed the Bay Area’s economy has improved over the last six months, but their confidence levels have fallen since last year. Thirty-nine percent said they expected the economy to improve over the next six months, a 12-point drop from last year.

Victoria Colliver is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. E-mail: vcolliver@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @vcolliver

Sacramento received 3,100 water waste complaints in the month of April -- the most out of nearly 400 agencies in the state.

Even when taking into account population, Sacramento still ranks high for water complaints in April, according to the Department of Water Resources.

“I think the Sacramento community is more aware of what’s happening. We’ve done a great job of educating the public,” says Rhea Serran, a spokeswoman with the Utilities Department.

She says that focus on education has resulted in a more vigilant public.

“They have been very helpful to let us know what’s happening in their communities and, but we also want to embrace that it’s not just about them letting us know that their neighbor is watering, but they’re educating themselves on ways that they can save water in and out of their home,” she says.

Agency Complaints Received Agency Complaints Per 1,000 People City of Sacramento 3,100 City of Rio Vista 7.93 Los Angeles Department Of Water And Power 1,875 City of Sacramento 6.46 City of Long Beach 1,766 City of Roseville 5.77 City of Fresno 1,298 Santa Fe Irrigation District 5.49 City of Modesto 941 City of Merced 5.12 City of San Diego 820 City of Ripon 4.62 City of Roseville 710 City of Folsom 4.62 City of Pasadena 437 City of Modesto 4.26 City of Merced 426 City of Long Beach 3.73 San Jose Water Company 385 Pinedale County Water District 3.65 City of Huntington Beach 340 Lodi City of Public Works Department 3.25 City of Glendale 315 City of West Sacramento 3.01 Sacramento County Water Agency 298 City of Chino Hills 2.97 City of Folsom 293 City of Pasadena 2.64 City of Chino Hills 226 City of Newman Water Department 2.53 Lodi City of Public Works Department 207 Laguna Beach County Water District 2.51 San Francisco Public Utilities Commision 194 City of San Luis Obispo 2.51 City of Clovis 191 City of Fresno 2.48 Sacramento Suburban Water District 183 City of La Palma 2.01 Coachella Valley Water District 161 Olivehurst Public Utility District 1.99 California-American Water Company  Sacramento 161 Orange Vale Water Company 1.89 Desert Water AGency 160 Sacramento County Water Agency 1.82 City of Burbank  159 Triunfo Sanitation District / Oak Park Water Service 1.80 City of West Sacramento 153 City of Clovis 1.76 City of San Bernardino 148 Winton Water & Sanitary District 1.76 Residents can report water waste, both commercial and residential, through the city’s 311 number or by sending an e-mail. There’s also a 311 app that allows users to take a picture and notify the city’s conservation specialist on where waste is occurring. The app provides a timestamp. These reports call attention to water runoff or leaks, and residents who are watering at the wrong time.

Serran says the city put in place its water waste reporting system even before Gov. Jerry Brown officially declared the drought last year. In 2013, the department received 1,800 hundred water calls. By 2014, complaints spiked to 19,000.*

“I think that’s great thing, I think it’s that we’re all in this together,” Serran says.

The city has 60 staffers trained to go on water patrols and look for misuse in the community. Serran says the city is looking into adding night patrols as well.

Once a report comes in, Serran says the city’s water conservation team is notified. A conservation specialist is then sent out to check on the report, speak to the business or homeowner and try to resolve the issue. It may take a day or two for the specialist to actually go to the site and he or she must witness the violation.

There’s no penalty for the first violation, but subsequent violations can result in fines between $50 to $1,000 in fines ($1,000 would be for a fourth violation). Those found to be in violation can attend water conservation classes, or “water school,” in order to waive the fine.

Water agencies across the state are required to turn in their enforcement statistics each month. Data include complaints, warnings and penalties handed down. The April numbers were the first to be collected.

A spokesman with the Department of Water Resources say the agency is waiting to collect more data to determine why some cities have higher numbers compared to others.

Sacramento ranks seventh in the state for the highest number of penalties assessed per capita. Sacramento region agencies were also at the top of the list for the most complaints received and penalties handed down.

Yuba City had the most penalties.

The city of Sacramento met its 20 percent conservation goal last year and expect to reach this year’s 28 percent goal. The state is expected to release a new set of numbers for water complaints, warnings and penalties in July.

Agency Penalties Assessed Agency Penalties Assessed Per 1,000 City of Fresno 347 Yuba City 0.87 City of Sacramento 191 City of Fresno 0.67 Yuba City 57 City of Tulare 0.66 City of San Diego 48 City of Madera 0.49 City of Tulare 41 Pinedale County Water District 0.47 City of Madera 31 City of Sacramento 0.40 City of Roseville 18 City of Lemoore 0.40 City of Lemoore 10 City of Kingsburg 0.26 City of Watsonville 10 Lake Arrowhead Community Services 0.18 Los Angeles Department of Water and Power  8 Cambria Community Services District 0.17 Source: California Department of Water Resources

By Fenit Nirappil Associated PressPosted:   06/22/2015 02:57:50 PM PDT0 CommentsSACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — Most California farmers, water districts and others affected by the broadest water cutbacks with century-old water rights did not respond to state regulators. It's the latest challenge for State Water Resources Control Board in reducing water consumption during California's fourth year of drought as rivers and streams run too dry to meet demand.

A look at what this means for California's water saving efforts: WHAT'S ALREADY HAPPENED: The water board has already told thousands with more recent claims to water in California's agricultural heartland to stop pumping from rivers and streams. It's received a tepid response from them, too. Only about a third in the San Joaquin, Sacramento and delta watersheds have confirmed that they are obeying the order. LEGAL CHALLENGES Some of these so-called "senior water rights" holders with claims dating before 1914 aren't accepting these largely unprecedented cuts without a fight. Several irrigation districts with prized claims are asking judges this week to put the state's order on hold while the legal questions are sorted out. INSPECTIONS Regulators lack widespread meters or sensors to make sure people aren't illegally taking water, so they send inspectors to check if water from rivers and streams is diverted to farms and other property. Water board officials say those who didn't respond to their order are the first to be inspected. They are starting to make unannounced visits or providing a general warning that they'll be in the area.Advertisement FINES

Regulators have told senior water rights holders to stop taking water before in the 1976-77 drought, but they now have new powers granted by Gov. Jerry Brown and lawmakers. They are able to levy fines of $1,000 a day for illegally taking water, plus $2,500 for each acre-foot diverted. One irrigation district says it faces penalties of $22 million a month if it disobeys, though such high fines at essentially unheard of.

The historic drought that has scorched California and forced residents to conserve water or face stiff fines has also created a business opportunity for a unique subset of entrepreneurs: lawn spray-painters.

For about $300, the New York Times reports, homeowners can transform their sun-baked brown lawns into lush, bright shades of green. According to the Times, "there are dozens of lawn paint options available, from longer-lasting formulas typically used on high-traffic turf such as ballparks and golf courses, to naturally derived products that rely on a highly concentrated pigment."

Drew McClellan, who launched a lawn-spraying business in July, told the paper he has more requests than he can handle.

“No matter how weird people might think it is, everyone is getting to the point of considering something drastic,” McClellan said.

According to LawnLift, a San Diego lawn paint manufacturer, sales of its "all-natural, non-toxic and biodegradable grass and mulch paint" have tripled this year.

In April, Gov. Jerry Brown issued an executive order that limited the watering of "ornamental landscape or turf" to no more than two days per week. Violators are subject to fines of up to $500.

Water agencies across the state have been offering rebates to homeowners who switch to a drought-friendly landscape such as natural sage, rocks and wildflowers.

And many have been taking them up on the offer. A spokesman for the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California told The Associated Press that the consortium received requests to remove 2.5 million square feet in residential lawns in July, up from 99,000 in January. The Municipal Water District of Orange County is taking in 20 to 30 applications a day, the AP said. The Santa Clara Valley Water District, which serves Silicon Valley, received more than 1,700 requests.

According to the Long Beach, California, water department, which began its turf replacement program in 2010, residents have cut their water bills by 20 percent by ripping out their lawns. Replacing a 1,000-square-foot lawn saves about 21,000 gallons of water annually, the department said.

By Steve Scauzillo, San Gabriel Valley Tribune

Posted: 06/19/15, 4:10 PM PDT | Updated: 2 hrs ago

0 Comments Grover Thornton paints the dying grass with a nontoxic green paint. The paint runs $149.95 for a gallon. JOHN MCCOY — STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

Faced with oppressive summer heat compounding four consecutive years of drought, Southern Californians are inventing new ways for coping with water shortages, including spray-painting haystack-colored lawns green, padlocking water spigots and, if that fails, appealing to a higher power.

It’s not that the tried-and-true methods of shorter showers, reduced sprinkler time and no assumed water service at restaurants are passe, but rather, drought tools have reached the nexus between desperation and innovation.



For some, the spreading apocalyptic response is heartening, a long-awaited reaction to snowpack in the Sierra at zero percent and dwindling state reservoir storage. For other experts, this is pure folly or at best, a belated salute to the new normal.

“I do think more people are responding now, but it has taken a long time,” said Peter Gleick, president of the nonprofit water think tank The Pacific Institute. “We are way behind in our efforts to deal with the drought. Yes, the seriousness is beginning to sink in. But it is a little late.”



Kerri McCoy has a bachelor’s degree in business administration from USC. She used to design pools. Today, she’s spray painting lawns.

McCoy, 51, founded Lawn Paint Pros in Thousand Oaks in 2010 as a way to add curb appeal to foreclosed homes. When the drought worsened and the state mandated at least 25 percent cutbacks for the first time in history, she started taking on new customers: homeowners sick of gazing at brown lawns due to reduced watering.

This year, she’s getting eight or more calls a day, up from one to two last year. She’s doing five to 15 jobs per week.



“Business has probably increased 5,000 percent,” said McCoy, who admits keeping up with demand and media calls is a double-whammy. She’s appeared in national print publications as well as NBC’s “Today” show and recently hired a marketing firm to strategize media coverage.

McCoy uses a lawn paint product made by Lawnlift, a San Diego company started by Jim Power, who also has roots in the mortgage meltdown of 2007-2009. Power’s products are in 45 retail outlets and the number is growing by two to three retailers a week, he said.

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Bruce Bloom, owner of North Hollywood Hardware, said the drought is driving business and not just for bottles of lawn paint. He’s stocking water spigot locks that attach to outdoor water bibs. A recent theft of water from a commercial shopping center in Milpitas, near San Jose, resulted in a warning from the local police to lock your outdoor spigots.

“We just got these locking devices for hose bibs,” Bloom said. “We’ve had homeless people turn the water on and start cleaning themselves.” Bloom says in the future, people fined for water violations will begin locking their garden spigots as a precaution.



The manager at Mission Super Hardware in San Gabriel, who only gave his name as Daniel, said the store began stocking Lawnlift’s lawn paint on Monday. “We’ve had people asking for something to color their lawns due to the drought,” he said. “Sometimes their homeowners associations are getting on them (for having brown lawns).”

Power makes the product in concentrate form in a San Diego warehouse. The nontoxic product uses natural pigments and contains a binding agent he described as “similar to Elmer’s School Glue.”



“It is a cosmetic for your lawn. A face-lift,” Power said. “By no means is it a long-term fix.”

In the past year, sales of Lawnlift’s lawn paint have doubled, he said. “Normally businesses see 10 percent or 20 percent growth. This has been 100 percent,” Power said. Grass paint sells for $16.95 for a quart to $149.95 for a gallon.

Power used to sell mostly to laborers and contractors, such as Lawn Paint Pros. Now, 60 percent of his sales are to do-it-yourselfers — average homeowners trying to save water, avoid fines and keep their lawns a green color.



Homeowners like the feeling of seeing a yellowed, frazzled lawn turn emerald green. “It is instantaneous. They enjoy it,” Power said.

Margarita Odelberg agreed.

She and her husband, Zevon, bought a home in Mid-City Los Angeles more than 10 years ago. They turned an asphalt lot into a lawn mostly for their 31/2-year-old daughter, Daisy. Now, after four years of drought, their lawn went to seed.

“The more yellow it got, the more depressed it got,” she said.

The Odelbergs didn’t want to lose a play area for their child. They didn’t want to remove their lawn and plant succulents or sprinkle gravel, so they found another option.



In April, she spent about $250 to spray grass paint on her front and back dying lawns — about 2,000 square feet total. May rains and some growth precipitated a re-do this month, like gray hairs coming through a dye job.

“I mix it up in water jugs, shake it and fill the sprayer. It is simple. It is cool. And it is totally safe,” Odelberg said. “When things are green, you are just happier.”

While some criticize spray painting lawns as tacky, Odelberg says she has turned off her sprinklers and is conserving water. She’s basically replaced watering with lawn paint. Her L.A. Department of Water and Power water bills dropped to $50 every other month, she said.



When she drives into Beverly Hills and sees rolling, green lawns, she scoffs. “I say, what a shame. These people should paint their lawns. They wouldn’t have to use all that water.”

In early May, Dr. Ahsan M. Khan, president of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community’s Los Angeles East Chapter, and the Baitul Hameed Mosque in Chino, prayed for rain. On May 14, the region experienced more rain than on any other day in the history of Southern California.

While stopping short of taking credit, Khan, an Orange County ophthalmologist, is inviting clergy from neighboring faiths to do it again on a bigger scale at an Interfaith “Prayer for Rain” on Saturday.



“This is where religion plays a role in our lives. We don’t have control over certain things. This is where we turn to God,” he said. “Beside, we really need water here. It is crazy. I hope we come through with this,” he added.

While Gleick isn’t willing to criticize an outstretched hand to God, he did say that lawn painting seemed frivolous.

“While spray-painting your dead lawn green is an option, it strikes me as clinging to an idea we probably ought to let go,” he said. “It would be better if people removed their lawns and replaced them with low-water using gardens.”