Lawn Watering Is Last Straw

Keeping lawns green through drought requires a lot of water. But when water is scarce, is watering the lawn the best way to use water? In the Southeast, where a severe drought has triggered a stubborn swamp fire and dried up golf courses, home owners are faced with the dilemma -- at least where local governments haven't forbidden the use of water for aesthetic enhancement. Atlanta, for instance, prohibits watering of all but vegetable gardens. In parts of the Carolinas, the three-day Memorial Day weekend inspired so many weekend lawn warriors and gardeners that some municipal systems just dried up, according to a story in the May 30 News & Observer.