Manteca Considers Smaller Front Lawns For New Homes

California cities are looking for more ways to cut their water use as summer approaches. One Central Valley city is considering a plan to reduce the size of new front lawns.

The city of Manteca requires new homes to have 35 percent of their front yards landscaped.
But the city is trying to reduce water usage by 25 percent so the city planning commission is considering a proposal to cut back on the required area for front lawns.

Manteca City Management Analyst Johanna Ferriera says new homes would still have 35 percent front yard as landscaping but only 25 percent would be turf.

"In the summer we are all watering more and that water is mostly going to our landscape, mostly to turf and so what this will do is reduce that amount of turf so it will reduce that amount of water this is being used," says Ferriera.

Ferreira says during the summer, yard and garden watering accounts for 60 percent of water usage.