BEND, OR -- While the city of Bend tries to convince homeowners to trade in their lawns for low-water landscaping, Bend Parks and Rec is defending its turf. Julie Brown says the district waters a relatively small amount of grass, "We actually have about 3,000 acres of park land that we take care of; less than 200 acres of that - so, it’s about 6.5% - is actually irrigated turf area." She tells KBND News, "Even if you look at it on a per park basis - One of the parks we just recently built and opened was Alpenglow Community Park, over on 15th in southeast Bend. That park looks like that’s a really big turf area. It’s less than 7% of that park."

Where the district does water, Brown says crews take steps to mitigate the amount, "We have about 65 smart meters hooked up and are looking at automated irrigation systems, looking at the moisture content. So, we are watering less frequently, but doing it in a much more efficient way, even for those smaller pieces of grass that we have across the district."

She believes some grass is important, so kids and athletes have a place to play and practice. But says the district tries not to use it where it isn't necessary. And, they have other tools to help reduce water use for other landscaping, including strategic planting, "Really focusing on those natural areas, native plantings, grouping plants together that have similar needs for water. We’re generally going away from having those strips of grass in parking areas or right along the roadway."

City of Bend water customers can get a rebate for converting lawn to a low-water landscape; $3 for each square foot of turf removed, up to $3,000. Click HERE for more information.