Cutting down on water amid one of the worst droughts in state history. People across the Central Valley are looking for ways to do their part.
One method is becoming quite popular. It's called "Drought Tolerant" landscaping.
Angela Greenwood takes a look into the growing trend that's saving water, time and money.
Dry, dehydrated, and dead, the scars are scattered throughout neighborhoods, taking over front yards.
This year's drought is so severe, it's sparking landscape makeovers all across the Central Valley.
"It's going to be cheaper in the long run, save water and save maintenance," said Erwin Echavez a homeowner.
Many homes are surrounded by lush, green, plants and grass that take hundreds of gallons of water to keep alive.
But these days, some are replacing the green with lots of brown dirt or yards full of rocks.
Then there's artificial grass.
"You look at this lawn, this is perfect everyday," Mike Schy, owner, Tru Turf.
Mike Schy makes a living installing synthetic lawns, more than 300 different types of it.
Saving people time. "You can go play golf on a Saturday rather than mowing the lawn," said Schy.
And water. "I think a lot of people don't realize how much water they actually use when they water their lawns. It could be 100 to 200 gallons a day," said Schy.
This synthetic grass is growing in popularity.
"We're getting a lot more calls in the valley people wanting to know what is it how do we do it," said Schy
Erwin Echaves didn't personally seek out the fake grass. He was given a choice when he recently purchased his brand new Bonadelle home in Friant. And so far, he loves it.
"We did choose the better option," said Echavez.
The development company offers the alternative for free, saying in part quote " It helps the homeowner to do their part in minimizing their consumption of water."
At one new housing development in Fresno County, nearly every other lawn is made up of synthetic grass. You really can't tell it's fake grass by looking at it. But what is noticeable right away are the cheaper water bills.
"Actually, we just paid like 17 bucks for water last month with the county," said Erwin Echavez.
Here's the water savings breakdown.
In the City of Fresno, the typical single family household uses an average of 133,300 gallons of water for outdoor use per year.
That comes to about 235 dollars a year.
Compare that to a synthetic lawn that takes virtually no water and your bill could drop significantly.
"You could be saving up to 80% on your water bill," said Schy.
And along with opting for synthetic grass, people are finding other ways to conserve. They're turning to drought tolerant plants.
"I know my whole yard is drought tolerant and I haven't watered it, other than the rain we've got, in the past two months and i haven't lost any of my plants, " said Abel Salais of H & E Nursery.
At Fresno's H & E Nursery the drought tolerant section continues to grow and so does the amount of interest.
"I'd say 50% of the people that come in look specifically for it," said Salais.
And the plants here take 50% less water than average plants. Some don't need a sprinkle for weeks, and they grow extremely large, covering a lot of ground.
For Echavez, the small change has made a big difference, he's now inspired to do even more.
"We plan to do more in the back," said Echavez.
Because when water is scarce, every drop counts.
"Again there's no maintenance, we're saving water, we're doing what we're supposed to be doing," said Schy.
One method is becoming quite popular. It's called "Drought Tolerant" landscaping.
Angela Greenwood takes a look into the growing trend that's saving water, time and money.
Dry, dehydrated, and dead, the scars are scattered throughout neighborhoods, taking over front yards.
This year's drought is so severe, it's sparking landscape makeovers all across the Central Valley.
"It's going to be cheaper in the long run, save water and save maintenance," said Erwin Echavez a homeowner.
Many homes are surrounded by lush, green, plants and grass that take hundreds of gallons of water to keep alive.
But these days, some are replacing the green with lots of brown dirt or yards full of rocks.
Then there's artificial grass.
"You look at this lawn, this is perfect everyday," Mike Schy, owner, Tru Turf.
Mike Schy makes a living installing synthetic lawns, more than 300 different types of it.
Saving people time. "You can go play golf on a Saturday rather than mowing the lawn," said Schy.
And water. "I think a lot of people don't realize how much water they actually use when they water their lawns. It could be 100 to 200 gallons a day," said Schy.
This synthetic grass is growing in popularity.
"We're getting a lot more calls in the valley people wanting to know what is it how do we do it," said Schy
Erwin Echaves didn't personally seek out the fake grass. He was given a choice when he recently purchased his brand new Bonadelle home in Friant. And so far, he loves it.
"We did choose the better option," said Echavez.
The development company offers the alternative for free, saying in part quote " It helps the homeowner to do their part in minimizing their consumption of water."
At one new housing development in Fresno County, nearly every other lawn is made up of synthetic grass. You really can't tell it's fake grass by looking at it. But what is noticeable right away are the cheaper water bills.
"Actually, we just paid like 17 bucks for water last month with the county," said Erwin Echavez.
Here's the water savings breakdown.
In the City of Fresno, the typical single family household uses an average of 133,300 gallons of water for outdoor use per year.
That comes to about 235 dollars a year.
Compare that to a synthetic lawn that takes virtually no water and your bill could drop significantly.
"You could be saving up to 80% on your water bill," said Schy.
And along with opting for synthetic grass, people are finding other ways to conserve. They're turning to drought tolerant plants.
"I know my whole yard is drought tolerant and I haven't watered it, other than the rain we've got, in the past two months and i haven't lost any of my plants, " said Abel Salais of H & E Nursery.
At Fresno's H & E Nursery the drought tolerant section continues to grow and so does the amount of interest.
"I'd say 50% of the people that come in look specifically for it," said Salais.
And the plants here take 50% less water than average plants. Some don't need a sprinkle for weeks, and they grow extremely large, covering a lot of ground.
For Echavez, the small change has made a big difference, he's now inspired to do even more.
"We plan to do more in the back," said Echavez.
Because when water is scarce, every drop counts.
"Again there's no maintenance, we're saving water, we're doing what we're supposed to be doing," said Schy.