Wealthy Residents Combat Water Shortage With Artificial Grass

22 Feb Wealthy Residents Combat Water Shortage With Artificial Grass

Crisis In Cape Town As Domestic Taps To Be Switched Off

How the residents of Cape Town are adapting to the struggles of this terrifying drought; panic and unusual strategies to preserve water.

As Cape Town experiences a 1 in 384-year drought, wealthy residents are turning to unusual methods of conserving water. The government is gearing up towards Day Zero, which is forecast to take place on April 16^th. On this date, the water supply to the city will be turned off and around a million homes will find that nothing comes out when they turn their taps on. Emergency measures have been set up including the army being on standby and 200 water collection points across the city to distribute a minimum of 25 litres per person per day, instead of piped water. Naturally though, panic has already set in within Cape Town and residents are stockpiling bottled water, purchasing their own water tanks and drilling boreholes to ensure that they have their own access to water, regardless of the state’s plans to keep them supplied.

How The Rich Are Adapting To This Natural Crisis

Surprisingly though, some of the wealthier residents of Cape Town don’t want to let their gardens go to pot during this natural consequence of climate change. Instead, the rich are planning ways to fill their swimming pools with non-potable water and are investing in artificial grass in a bid to reduce the amount of water required to maintain their lawns. In fact, data from South African site PriceCheck found that artificial grass is the fifth most searched for product on the ecommerce platform. CEO Kevin Tucker explains “Prices of specialised water-saving products and devices are on the rise. Too many Capetonians have made the change to water-conscious living too late. Make the move to higher grey water consumption and the tools needed to do this earlier”.

The Water-Saving Benefits Of Artificial Grass

Those of us in the UK can learn from the horrendous experience in Cape Town and take many measures to reduce our own water consumption at home. Installing artificial grass instead of a typical lawn can save money on your utility bills as well as protecting the environment. It takes an average of 55 gallons of water per square foot of lawn, to keep real grass thriving each year. If you switch to artificial lawns, then that’s a considerable saving.

In parts of the USA, including California which frequently experiences severe droughts, homeowners are offered cash rebates if they’re willing to utilise low-water landscaping measures such as laying an artificial lawn. This proves what an eco-friendly option fake grass is for homeowners. Artificial grass installers can lay the turf from as little as £20 per square metre for this impressive material which doesn’t require watering or a complex sprinkler system to be installed. Yet, it’s also flood-proof too.

Soil may be porous, but fake turf has also been designed with drainage in mind. It comes with small holes in the bottom of the grass which allow excess water to filter through onto a permeable layer of sub-base which will provide excellent drainage for years to come.

While the UK may not experience droughts of the same severity that Cape Town and California do, the future of climate change means that we should all be taking as many measures as possible to protect the planet for all that live on it. Alongside other water-saving practices, make the switch to artificial grass as soon as possible to contribute to a better future.