How much will lawn increase water bill? (Phoenix, Queen Creek: condo, buying a house)

[jen1985]

We are buying a house and the front is rocks and the back is dead grass. I've lived in a condo with no garden for years so just curious how much extra it will be if I get a small lawn going in the backyard.
Home is in Queen Creek and water company is H20. Any guesstimates?

[nightgirl151]

Depends...how big is your "small" patch of grass? If you are doing new sod, it will need watered 4x/day in the beginning to get it started.

[lyzzard]

Also depends on when you water it, sprinkler system vs hose, and how much your water company charges per 1k gallons. Ours charges $10 per 1k gal. So once our grass is in I imagine it will cost an extra $20 per month, but we also have a very small backyard and the patch of grass will be small (less than 300 sqft). Species of grass can also make a difference. Most people use bermuda, which is pretty hardy (but doesn't grow in the shade), but there are those who use fescue because it grows in the shade as well as the sun but is more water intensive than the bermuda.

[altus2006]

The water rates are fairly cheap. I was surprised that it only cost $10 when my pool was drained and refilled this spring.

My yard has bubblers front and back for the plants and the water bill is a total of $45 per month. If you want grass, especially for a small area, the cost for watering it will probably be under $10 a month added to your total bill.

altus2006

[ji603]

ditto. Grass in back here, bubblers in front and a few citrus trees. No pool. Water bill's about 55-60 bucks a month.

[Jukesgrrl]

We all fret about what the water costs in terms of a monthly bill, but how much worry is directed to a finite natural resource being used up to give us something that doesn't belong in a desert?

[MotleyCrew]

Originally Posted by Jukesgrrl

We all fret about what the water costs in terms of a monthly bill, but how much worry is directed to a finite natural resource being used up to give us something that doesn't belong in a desert?

I agree. We watch our neighobors knock themselves out trying to keep this tiny patch of grass green and weed free. We did the whole zenoscape thing and glad we did . We like the rock front with the interesting desert plants.

[jen1985]

I need green and trees otherwise I'd be miserable. I am not asking for a huge lawn, but something small and a compromise.
I don't really like desert landscape. But our front "lawn" is 100% rocks.

[altus2006]

Originally Posted by jen1985

I need green and trees otherwise I'd be miserable. I am not asking for a huge lawn, but something small and a compromise.
I don't really like desert landscape. But our front "lawn" is 100% rocks.

Fix your grass and enjoy it. People talk about living in the desert with an infinite amount of water, but last summer the 5 lakes that hold water for the Phoenix area were so full that the overflow valves were opened to release some water.

In my view, when we really have a water problem the first control of usage will be higher water rates. As long as the rates are low, water shortage is probably not a problem for now. If it becomes a problem and your water bill gets too high you can always dig out the grass and plant rocks.


altus2006