SECTION 1.
The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:(a) On average, California communities use 10 percent of water statewide, agriculture uses 40 percent, and the environment uses 50 percent, according to the Public Policy Institute of California.
(b) According to the Natural Resources Defense Council, about one-half of California’s urban water usage is for outdoor uses such as landscaping, pools, and washing cars, and 70 percent of that usage is residential. This means that, of California’s total water use, approximately 3.5 percent is outdoor residential use.
(c) According to the Public Policy Institute of California, total urban water use has plateaued, even though California’s population grew by 5.5 million people from 2000 to 2020.
(d) The State Water Resources Control Board found all of the following in a January 2022 report on the environmental effects of potential urban water use efficiency standards on urban retail water suppliers, wastewater management agencies, and urban landscapes:
(1) Given the diversity of urban forests and urban contexts across California, reduced residential outdoor water use associated with Chapter 15 of the Statutes of 2018 (Assembly Bill 1668 of the 2017–18 Regular Session) and Chapter 14 of the Statutes of 2018 (Senate Bill 606 of the
2017–18 Regular Session) is expected to have varying impacts on urban trees.
(2) If the needs of existing trees are not fully considered in the design of water-wise yards, the process of landscape conversion can physically damage existing tree roots and create sudden changes in irrigation, potentially leading to tree water stress and decline.
(3) Even when drip irrigation is installed with trees’ water needs in mind, it may not supply enough water to alleviate tree water stress under high-temperature conditions in arid climates, which could be a concern in arid southern or inland regions of the state.
(e) The State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission has found the cooling effect of an average size lawn
is equal to about nine tons of air conditioning. The average home has an air conditioner with a three- or four-ton capacity.
(f) One 50-foot-by-50-foot patch of turfgrass produces enough oxygen for a family of four.
(g) An average-sized healthy lawn can capture as much as 300 pounds of carbon per year and one soccer field can offset the carbon produced by a car driving 3,000 miles.
(h) Environmental heating is reduced by turfgrass. On a hot summer day, a well maintained turfgrass area will be at least 30 degrees cooler than asphalt and 14 degrees cooler than bare soil.
(i) Climate appropriate turfgrass species, such as warm season turfgrasses, require 20
percent less water than cool season turfgrasses, according to a University of California study.