This is in response to the editorial about all the grass being grown in our valley and the solution to this problem. The editor's solution was to raise the price of water.
The theory behind the idea is that homeowners will start conserving water if it is more expensive. That does not adequately solve the problem we face, namely that we live in a desert and water is a dwindling commodity.
I was raised in Tucson, Ariz., which is smack-dab in the middle of a desert, drier than Utah. Every time I go back there I am amazed by the lack of grass. Almost all government building and grounds have xeriscape landscaping. Maybe one out of 10 homes has a grass yard. You drive around that town and you see most places have rocks, wood chips or dirt around water-conserving plants.
Instead of raising the price of water, why don't we start a program of browning down Utah? It should start with government buildings and grounds as an example that our leaders take the water problem seriously.
Next, they can start with a program of incentives for properties to change from grass to xeriscape. Maybe a tax write-off would get the ball rolling.
Maybe there is a sod lobby that will oppose it, but in 50 years we might have enough water to go around.
David T. Lancaster, Murray