Manteca in April used almost 90 million gallons less water than in April of 2013.

That despite Manteca having 17,000 more residents today. The city’s population in 2013 was pegged at 71,890.

It represents a 37.6 per capita drop in April water use between 2013 and 2024

The per capita use was 194 gallons per day in April 2013 compared to 121 gallons per day last month.

Manteca’s peak historical water consumption for April was in 2013 when it pushed 420 million gallons.

The overall city water use last month was 327.243 million gallons.

That was up slightly from 325,253 million gallons during April 2023.

While the mild weather and rain in April helped, water conservation measures are clearly working.

Going back a decade or so if it rained in April people would still water lawns despite there being no need to do so.

Also newer homes are more miserly with water use from low-flow shower heads to low-flush toilets.

At the same time washing machines have become more efficient and a number of existing homes have been retrofitted with water saving fixtures.

The city’s requirement for front yards of new homes to be limited to a maximum allowable percentage that can be planted in grass helped reduce the growth of water use.

At the same time the city’s turf program has helped reduce water in existing commercial and residential.

The Manteca turf replacement program dubbed “Lawn to Garden” pays an incentive of $1 per square foot — up to $650 — when a grass lawn is replaced with water-efficient landscaping suited to the area’s  semi-arid climate.

The need to replace lawns and other areas covered with grass that are not native to California is simple. In order to stay green such grass consumes an inordinate amount of water.

For non-native grass to look like what you’d see in the Midwest, South, Eastern Seaboard or even in select Bay Area locations where temperatures are lower and there is more moisture in the air, it requires a huge price with front and backyard lawn areas.

That price is almost 50 percent of all water consumed during the course of a year by a typical Manteca household.

It’s a fairly common water use in the Central Valley, especially with tract-style homes on larger lots.

Reducing water use when it comes to “eye candy” given that most front yards are for curb appeal and not used by neighborhood kids to play flag football, reduces the financial burden for all ratepayers.

The city’s rebate program only applies to front yards and parkways.

If you remove your grass lawn before your design is approved, you will not qualify for the rebate

Contact the city Water Division at 209 456-8468 or email waterconservation@manteca.city to discuss lawn to garden requirements before beginning project.