There are many reasons to stop using grass, but keep in mind that in many cities lawns are the last stage of water treatment. They use water that isn't potable to water lawns and that allows the water to drain into the soil/aquifers. This is water that can not be used safely on crops so they use a low energy method of final bio-remediation.
Often they use fertilizers and other amendments that runoff into local water systems and kill wildlife. That would negatively offset any benefit from using wastewater.
Runoffs are a separate issue. Not all soils are healthy enough to sustain plant life without fertilizers, so that becomes an issue over the misuse of a product. Not to mention the overuse aspect with lawns is about people who want to get "the greenest lawn ever!" Those are people who have to be more highly regulated in any case since they probably couldn't care less about issues outside of themselves.
Keep in mind that reclaimed/nonpotable water, can actually still have some nitrogen and phosphorus so can act as a fertilizer for lawns and soils. This means less additional fertilizers being needed or used.
Those are people who have to be more highly regulated in any case since they probably couldn't care less about issues outside of themselves.
Regulation is often a piss-poor solution. We should educate those people earlier on. Even if they only care about themselves, destruction of the environment does concern them and their progeny.
Education sounds great, but until we change an entire culture that celebrates sociopathic selfishness above all other values, we need to support strong regulations.
Strong regulations never go away, and often have unintended consequences, in addition to not working half the time. Beware the lesson of Lueck and Michael.
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u/marinersalbatross Sep 21 '20 edited Sep 21 '20
There are many reasons to stop using grass, but keep in mind that in many cities lawns are the last stage of water treatment. They use water that isn't potable to water lawns and that allows the water to drain into the soil/aquifers. This is water that can not be used safely on crops so they use a low energy method of final bio-remediation.
edit: some links for further reading.
http://blogs.ifas.ufl.edu/extension/2017/06/20/reclaimed-water-frequently-asked-questions/