Citizen Q

Let the lawn go; set an example

We asked readers to tell us what steps they think need to be taken to make sure the Triangle is better prepared when the next drought hits us. Here are some of the ideas.

Alice Osborn is a Raleigh resident, a mother of two and an English teacher at Raleigh Charter High School.

As a community, we could have prohibited watering much earlier, before the crisis escalated. For instance, water restrictions could have been implemented midsummer in 2007, rather than in the fall.

Is having a perfect green lawn that important? Apparently to some people and to some expensive subdivisions.

In fact, many high-end subdivision community associations prohibit the use of drought-resistant grass because they don't want lawns to go brown - this would make the neighborhood less inviting. These community restrictions don't make sense to me or to my husband.

As a household, we've learned drought water-saving techniques that we also model for our 5-year-old son, Daniel.

We turn off the water when we shave, wash dishes, wash hands and brush our teeth. In fact, our son gets upset when he sees a shower running unoccupied at the YMCA (I guess someone's waiting for the water to warm up?).

He even wanted to tell someone at Jones Beach in Long Island when he saw a broken water fountain that kept gurgling its contents onto the ground.

We're teaching Daniel how not to waste water, and, as a family, we're never going to take water for granted again.