Expect high-traffic areas in Griffith Park to be a little dustier this summer, as park maintenance staff is not going to be hosing them clean anymore in an attempt to conserve water in the face of the persistent statewide drought that's led to mandatory cutbacks. The principal grounds maintenance supervisor at Griffith tells the Los Feliz Ledger, "Just like residents are not out there with hoses in their driveways, we can't be" either. (Water-wasting celebrities, take note.)
Around the park's merry-go-round, guests might see "irricades" (plastic barricades used to water trees) tucked between parking spaces in the nearby lot as another sign of careful watering. The park's head groundskeeper says that Griffith is already browner over all—not Westwood-Mormon-Temple-lawn brown, but "It is definitely suffering from a lack of rain ... It's happened slowly over time in subtle changes. It's not really one moment in time."
The situation seemed to be different in Amir's Garden, where "multiple sprinklers were running ... while its unofficial keeper, Kristin Sabo, was watering by hand." Rec and Parks officials wouldn't comment about whether or not there were restrictions in effect at the park, in Fern Dell, or at the park's bird sanctuary.
The only place that's not having trouble staying green is the park's Wilson Harding Golf Course. The course (actually two 18-hole courses) uses recycled water, which isn't subject to the new restrictions, so it will probably stay fairly verdant throughout the summer. But the Department of Rec and Parks Golf Superintendent tells LFL that in the next few years, mulch and native plants will appear on the course as part of a turf replacement plan aimed as shaving labor costs down at the course. A few picnic areas are also watered with recycled water; they'll probably be easy to spot as the summer heats up, as they'll be the greenest ones in the park.
· Park Under Water Restrictions, Too [LFL]
· LA Doesn't Have to Cut Back on Any More Water (For Now) [Curbed LA]
· Kim and Kanye Neighbors Disgusted By Flower Freshness in Midst of Drought [Curbed LA]
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