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Assembly bill would allow artificial grass
By Michael Gardner, U-T SACRAMENTO BUREAU
Tuesday, February 16, 2010 at 12:04 a.m.
SACRAMENTO — Rocky Wilson figures that just by landscaping his small front yard with artificial turf, he could save enough water annually to take a five-minute shower daily for about six years.
If only his homeowners association would let him.
Wilson has been working with the governing board of La Costa Greens, a master-planned community of single-family residences in Carlsbad, for nearly two years to secure permission amid steep water shortages and rationing across California.
“Why waste water?” he asked. “I was born and raised here. There’s always been drought.”
Wilson’s case isn’t isolated, according to state water officials and water districts in San Diego County.
They said that many HOAs have moved aggressively to reduce water consumption partly by planting drought-resistant vegetation or watering their lawns less often, but that some resist such changes because they want to preserve a certain look for their community’s landscaping. The opposition can come from an HOA board or certain residents in a complex.
“I’ve got some ratepayers fighting their homeowners associations over the right to put in low-water-use plants or artificial turf,” said Keith Lewinger, general manager of the Fallbrook Public Utility District.
Hoping to create a more uniform policy, water managers took their case to Sacramento. Assemblywoman Lori Saldaña, D-San Diego, took up the cause.
“They need direction when we’re dealing with record drought,” Saldaña said in introducing Assembly Bill 1793.
Saldaña’s measure would require homeowners associations to allow installation of artificial turf. But in a nod to concerns about quality, the legislation permits those associations to establish design and quality standards for fake grass.
Although artificial turf is gaining more public acceptance as manufacturers make better-looking and longer-lasting versions, some HOA boards continue to have misgivings about the turf’s appearance and durability.
There are about 6,000 homeowners associations in San Diego County and 43,350 statewide, from condos to single-family developments, according to 2007 data compiled by Community Associations.
At Villa Portofino in Tierrasanta, Muriel Vasconcellos is less than enthusiastic about the prospect of her HOA having to accept artificial grass, partly because she’s worried about potentially dangerous chemicals that have been found in some varieties.
Vasconcellos, a member of her association’s landscaping committee, said local rules don’t expressly prohibit artificial turf, but she doesn’t get the sense that many neighbors support it.
“People around here enjoy our area for its natural beauty,” she said.
So she’s helping to replace her neighborhood’s grassy areas with drought-tolerant plants. “I like a natural solution,” Vasconcellos said.
Saldaña believes installing artificial grass will benefit HOAs by lowering water bills and maintenance costs. She lives in a rental complex that encourages use of artificial grass.
“It’s very attractive,” Saldaña said. “It obviously conserves water and can be maintained.”
Assemblyman Ted Lieu, D-Torrance, has endorsed Saldaña’s bill. Last year, he got the Legislature to pass legislation meant to push HOAs to allow more drought-resistant landscaping.
“We are still in a drought,” Lieu said. “We have to change our ways.”
The San Diego County Water Authority, noting that outdoor uses make up about 60 percent of household water consumption, is promoting artificial turf as an important way to battle drought.
“What we’ve been hearing for a number of months is that many HOAs were either prohibiting or limiting the use of artificial turf,” said William Rose, head of the authority’s conservation program.
His agency estimates that about 112 gallons of water would be saved each day if a coastal homeowner installed artificial grass in a 1,000-square-foot yard. That’s roughly 41,000 gallons a year.
The savings would be even greater in warmer inland communities: approximately 156 gallons a day, or about 57,000 gallons annually.
Wilson, a consultant for the Fastrucking shipping service in San Diego, estimates that he could use 30,000 fewer gallons a year by not watering his 300-square-foot front yard.
That’s enough for doing 1,200 loads of laundry with a newer, high-efficiency washing machine, or for flushing a low-flow toilet 18,750 times, according to the county water authority.
Wilson hopes the La Costa Greens board will approve his application and then clear the way for more of his neighbors to put in artificial grass. The savings could be 3 million gallons of water a year if 1,000 La Costa Greens residents converted, he said.
“It’s not for everybody, but the option should be there for those who want to,” Wilson said.
Staff writer Mike Lee contributed to this report.
It’s been a long wait for the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to weigh in on the safety of recreational products made from recycled tires. Finally, it released the results of a limited field monitoring study of artificial turf playing fields and playgrounds using recycled tire material or tire crumb. EPA plans to use the study information to help determine the next step to address questions regarding the safety of tire crumb infill in recreational fields.
In short, the EPA study found that using the material does not point to a concern for the agency at this time. This is another positive reinforcement for this sector of the recycling industry, which already knew from numerous laboratory analyses, state studies and independent field studies that the material posed little or no environmental danger or health risks.
Liberty Tire Recycling, the country’s largest recycler of scrap tires processes 110 to 120 million tires per year. Company president Don Rea commented on the EPA study, “There has been somewhere between 50 to 100 studies on crumb rubber. There has been so much study done that it doesn’t seem possible that someone is going to come up with another conclusion. It would have been nice if the EPA had just said this stuff is fine, forget it. If EPA was the least bit suspicious they would not have said what they said.”
Over the years, shredded and crumb rubber processed from recycled tires has found its way into many useful recreational and architectural applications. These include rubberized ground covers under playground equipment, running track material, soil additives for playing fields and sports flooring. Crumb rubber is also used in artificial turf fields between turf fibers to provide stability and resiliency.
According to the Synthetic Turf Council artificial turf has been installed in approximately 4,500 American fields, tracks and playgrounds. Synthetic turf was originally used in stadiums and on athletic fields for college and professional sports teams, but now is also used in municipal parks, golf courses, playgrounds, on cruise ships, in airports and residences for lawns. In addition, recycled tires are being processed into colorized mulches for residential and commercial applications, a growing market that exposes more people each year to the material.
This rubberization of surfaces offers many benefits to help prevent injuries and reduce stress on leg muscles, ligaments, tendons and joints, and accounts for its widespread and increased use. This ability to absorb shock has taken rubberized surfacing into homes, workplaces, tennis courts, weight rooms, gyms, fitness centers and even to the equine and bovine worlds. And because it’s easier to clean and cleans more thoroughly, it’s more hygienic than other flooring materials such as wood or concrete.
Cow mats made from recycled tires are increasingly being used in dairy barns all over North America. Just like preventing injuries for humans in recreation and sport, cow mats prevent calves from getting hurt when they fall on concrete barn floors. The insulating properties also reduce cold and humidity on concrete floors to help protect cows against rheumatism and fatigue. Some diaries even attribute increased milk production to rubber flooring.
Abacus Sports Installations, Ltd., for instance, markets a wide variety of rubberized sports flooring made from recycled tires. Their seamless, textured equine flooring for stables is very popular because it’s easier to clean and minimizes bacteria. It’s even installed on stable walls and columns for added protection.
Spencer Proud, owner of Abacus said that his customers have never voiced any concern about the safety of his company’s products. “We’ve never had any complaints or issues in over 20-years of contracting. From an architectural standpoint many of our customers are interested in earning LEED credits (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design Green Building Rating System) It’s recycled material, very durable, very sustainable. School boards and everyone else these days wants everything to be green for very good reasons. Having this recycled content brings serious contributing points.”
Nevertheless, over the past several years, a number of concerns have been raised over the use of tire crumb materials in turf fields and playgrounds.
Parents in Colorado were concerned about children carrying home small particles of tire crumbs on their clothing. High levels of lead were detected on some artificial turf fields in New Jersey. To address various public concerns, a number of cities and states engaged in sampling, testing and evaluation of products containing recycled tire rubber.
In 2007, the California Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment issued a report, Evaluation of Health Effects of Recycled Waste Tires in Playground and Track Products. It concluded that there appeared to be little long-term risk to human health.
In 2008, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued a low-level public health advisory, due to some negative publicity surrounding artificial turf.
The Consumer Product Safety Commission investigated reports of lead contamination from artificial turf and, in July 2008, concluded that “young children are not at risk from exposure to lead in these fields.”
A July 2009 California EPA study found no significant health risk to people who breathe the air above synthetic turf that contains crumb rubber. The study looked at the chemicals found in the air above the turf and the chemicals found in the air upwind from the fields analyzed. The conclusion: chemicals were found in similar concentrations in both samples.
A May 2009 study by the New York departments of Environmental Conservation and Health found that crumb rubber used in synthetic turf fields poses no significant environmental threat or health concerns.
Finally, in December, the national response came with the release of the results of EPA’s limited “scoping study” of tire crumb. The study consisted of collecting air and wipe samples at locations near EPA laboratories in Raleigh, North Carolina, Athens, Georgia, and Cincinnati, Ohio. Sampling was also was done in Washington, D.C.
Conducted from August to October 2008, the study found that the concentrations of materials that made up tire crumb were below levels considered harmful. “The limited data EPA collected during this study, which do not point to a concern, represents an important addition to the information gathered by various government agencies,” said Peter Grevatt, director of EPA’s Office of Children’s Health Protection “The study will help set the stage for a meeting this spring, where EPA will bring together officials from states and federal agencies to evaluate the existing body of science on this topic and determine what additional steps should be taken to ensure the safety of kids who play on these surfaces,” he added.
As usual, EPA qualified the findings of its study: “Given the limited nature of the study (limited number of constituents monitored, sample sites, and samples taken at each site) and the wide diversity of tire crumb material, it is not possible, without additional data, to extend the results beyond the four study sites to reach more comprehensive conclusions.”
However, the EPA study did confirm, most importantly, that most of the methods tested were accurate, reproducible and appropriate for measuring concentrations of tire crumb constituents and can be used in future studies.
EPA is aware that studies by other agencies were undertaken or completed while its survey was being conducted. EPA is planning a 2010 meeting with federal and state agencies to review all new study data and determine next steps.
The next steps will likely involve more government spending for more studies to arrive at essentially the same conclusions. Meanwhile, more products made from recycled tires will keep more old tires out of landfills and continue to find new and useful applications.
ArtificialTurfSupply.com provides synthetic solutions for many custom projects with the highest of quality in mind. As one of the only, manufacturer direct, wholesale artificial turf suppliers, we can offer unprecedented pricing, delivery schedule and quality with the flexibility to meet the requirements of the most demanding custom specification.
ArtificialTurfSupply.com has a unique teaming relationship with many professional installation crews, guaranteeing the most efficient, high quality, turnkey project. Below you will find a list of several artificial turf installations completed with ArtificialTurfSupply.com.
| Facility Name | Location | Type of Facility |
| City of Edgewater | Edgewater, NJ | Multi-Purpose |
| City of Punta Gorda | Punta Gorda, FL | Multi-Purpose |
| Fort Hunter Liggett | Jolon, CA | Gov’t Green Building |
| Future Swings | Marion, IL | Baseball Field |
| Moore Public Schools | Oklahoma, OK | Multi-Purpose |
| United Athletic Centers | Stratford, CT | Soccer Field |
| United Athletic Centers | Waterbury, CT | Soccer Field |
| United Athletic Centers | Fairfield, CT | Soccer Field |
| Fundamentals Plus | Westport, CT | Baseball Facility |
| Gametime Sports Academy | Oklahoma City, OK | Baseball Facility |
| Canine Extreme | Stock Island, FL | Pet Facility |
| Kinder Care | National | Child Development Center |
| Goddard School | Lakewood, CO | Children’s Playground |
| University of Eastern Kentucky | Richmond, KY | Baseball Facility |
| The Julliard School | New York, NY | Theater-Arts Department |
| Bedford Springs Resort | Bedford, PA | Multi-Purpose |
| Tecolote Baseball | San Diego, CA | Baseball Infield |
| Red Rock Pet Resort | Washington, UT | Pet Facility |
| Rinderle Sports Park | Bristow, VA | Soccer Field |
| Stonebrook Development | Lakeside, AZ | Community Landscape |
| KB Homes | San Diego, CA | Community Landscape |
| The Brooklyn Museum | Brooklyn, NY | Landscape Display |
| The Pet Lodge | Hopkinsville, KY | Pet Facility |
| Tomball Independent Schools | Tomball, TX | Multi-Purpose |
| Union Sports Arena | Union, NJ | Soccer Facility |
| Renaissance Village | Baton Rouge, NO | Children’s Playground |
| McDonalds | National | Landscape |
| Jack In The Box | San Diego, CA | Landscape |
| SBEC Sports Complex | Memphis, TN | Multi-Purpose |
| South Beach Plaza Hotel | Miami, FL | Roof Top Landscape |
| Country Side Pet Resort | Friendsville, TN | Pet Facility |
| Sportime TFM | Lynbrook, NY | Multi-Purpose |
| Sportime TFM | Kings Park, NY | Multi-Purpose |
| El Toro Water District | El Toro, CA | Landscape |
| Fontana Unified School District | Fontana, CA | Multi-Purpose |
| Fort Dodge Catholic Schools | Fort Dodge, IA | Children’s Playground |
| Green Acres Mortuary | Scottsdale, AZ | Landscape |
| Greater Monroe Kennel Club | Matthews, NC | Pet Facility |
For handy types, installing artificial grass shouldn’t be too difficult. Detailed instructions are available; many are specifically geared toward your specific circumstances. For instance, if you’re installing synthetic grass atop concrete, you can find directions for how to do so with ease. On the other hand, if you’re installing it over soil, you can follow instructions that are specific to that situation. If you’ve never installed synthetic grass before, it might seem a bit confusing at first; by taking your time, though, you can easily get the job done and have attractive artificial grass all set up on your own.
BY GERALD CARROLL • gcarroll@visalia.gannett.com • February 2, 2010
Visalia city officials hope a whopping 60 percent increase in water rates over the next three years — plus intensive water-conservation efforts — will slow a decades-long drain on the city’s groundwater supply.
But there’s no guarantee that California Water Service Co., which provides all of Visalia’s drinking water, will be able to raise rates that high, Visalia City Council members were told at a Monday work session.
“It all depends on what the state will allow us to charge,” said Mike Markarian, Visalia superintendent for Cal Water.
In the past, he said, the California Public Utilities Commission has allowed only a fraction of Cal Water rate-increase requests. Cal Water should learn later this year what it will be allowed to charge Visalia water customers.
As for conservation, most measures adopted by the city — including an extensive water-conservation ordinance adopted in 1989 — have simply failed, experts say. Thousands of unmetered Visalia water customers are charged a flat rate, with meter installation not due to be completed until 2012 at the earliest.
The use of water for landscaping is the main culprit for Visalia’s overdraftproblems, said Kim Loeb, Visalia’s natural resource conservation manager. Conversion of thirsty fescue lawns to rocky landscapes would help, Loeb said, and indoor water use could be curbed as well.
Toilets, which can use as much as 6 gallons per flush, use up 33 percent of Visalia’s water supply, Loeb said.
But replacing toilets in older homes with more efficient units has been a slow process, he said.
“This is a critical issue, but a sleeper,” Visalia City Councilman Mike Lane said. “This is a desert climate, with only 10 inches of rain per year. [It's] arid.”
Mayor Bob Link said schools’ water use has gone largely unmoni-tored. Federal stimulus funding will be directed at water conservation in the Visalia Unified School District, which will announce the amount involved at joint session of the council and district board at 6 p.m. today.
Loeb said Visalia officials might think of adopting policies that have worked in other dry areas. These include:
Weather-based irrigation. Much of the watering at Visalia parks is closely monitored by computer-based systems.
Incentives for use of rotating sprinkler nozzles, which can be used indoors or outdoors.
Landscape-irrigation audits.
“Cash for grass” incentives to replace natural turf with artificial surfaces.
Pool-cover incentives.
“Building green needs to include water conservation,” Loeb said.
Upgrade some or all of your lawn to a Water Smart Landscape. After you upgrade, you can qualify for a cash rebate for every square foot of lawn converted to water-smart landscaping. Make sure you check with an ArtificialTurfSupply.com specialist or your local water department for details.
Remember, every square foot of natural grass replaced with artificial grass, water-smart trees, shrubs and flowers saves an average of 55 gallons of water per year, so you’ll also save money on your monthly water bill. Go green today!
By ed@heyfairfield on January 27, 2010
On Saturday, January 23rd, The Clubhouse celebrated it’s Grand Opening with a ribbon cutting ceremony and ceremonial first pitch by First Selectman Kenneth Flatto.
The Clubhouse has enlisted a full team of nationally recognized instructors and advisors who offer a wealth of experience to players and coaches. Participants can select from a menu of training options and clinics appropriate for different playing levels. During the grand opening, the public was invited to tour the 11,000 square foot facility, including its locker room, viewing and waiting areas, batting cages, and all purpose instructional area.
Head instructors include MLB veterans Mike Porzio, a 15 year professional, including three seasons pitching for the Colorado Rockies and Chicago White Sox; and Willie Upshaw, former player with the Toronto Blue Jays and Cleveland Indians, who had a 17-year professional coaching career and was a three-time MLB hitting coach. Rounding out the roster of lead instructors are former Minnesota Twins catcher and current scout for the Arizona Diamondbacks, Matt Merullo; and, Angel Echevarria, former outfielder/pinch hitter with the Milwaukee Brewers. In addition, Amber Radomski, head softball coach at Manhattanville College and a former professional player will be the head softball instructor.
The Clubhouse features a professional playing surface of synthetic grass by ArtificialTurfSupply.com with full length batting tunnels for live hitting, and the same state-of-the-art motion analysis system used by Major League Baseball. In addition to coaching instruction, the Clubhouse provides expertise in strength, conditioning and sport’s medicine, as well as clinics on college placement.
Clubhouse attendees
The Clubhouse is located at 2215 Black Rock Turnpike in Fairfield.
The ribbon is cut at the Grand Opening of the Clubhouse. L-R:Amber Radomski, Mike Porzio, Dennis Morgan, Hans Hanson, Fairfield First Selectman Kenneth Flatto, Angel Echevarria, Willie Upshaw
Alex Almeida Outfielder for the Trinity College Baseball team takes batting practice during the grand opening of The Clubhouse
Fairfield First Selectman and Former Toronto Blue Jays Willie Upshaw get ready for the ceremonial first pitch at The Clubhouse Grand Opening
