Landscaping is not very water-wise

It's no secret that Southern California is in a period of severe drought. Through a program of waterwise education, the Las Virgenes Municipal Water District has spent considerable time and effort educating area residents on how to conserve water. There is the Malibu Creek Runoff Control Program, customer rebates for weatherbased irrigation controllers, free water use audits and rebates for rotating sprinklers.

Yet, these numerous efforts to educate area water users appear to have fallen on deaf ears at the city of Calabasas.

The newly installed landscaping along Mulholland Highway between Declaration Ave. and A.C. Stelle features extensive areas of turf grass and numerous non-native flowering plants. The sprinkler system, which uses potable, not recycled water, oversprays into the street, something the water district has specifically asked residents to avoid.

If the city had been paying any attention the conservation facts provided by the district, they would have known that turf grass requires 60 inches of water each year for irrigation. The new landscaping along Mulholland not only falls far short of a responsible water-wise policy, and given the extreme drought condition this is downright irresponsible.

The City Council is perpetually proclaiming Calabasas to be a leading envirionmental city. It has invested hundred of thousands of dollars on greencertified buildings at the $34 million dollar civic center under construction. They have adopted strong smoking and styrofoam ordinances under an environmental banner. But when it comes to a simple decision of what to plant along a major highway corridor, their actions would seem completely clueless.

City Hall should do a better job of setting an example for the rest of us. How about starting by practicing what you preach? Toby Keeler Calabasas