SAN JOSE, Calif. — The Santa Clara Valley Water District introduced a new summer advertising campaign, “Brown is the New Green,” to encourage local residents to reduce outdoor watering and let their lawns turn a little brown, according to a press release.
The Brown is the New Green campaign focuses on the care and maintenance of lawns during an extreme drought, highlighting how a lawn can survive while saving a large amount of water, stated the release.
Summer water use normally reaches 60 percent higher than in non-summer months, with even small lawns potentially using more than 18,000 gallons of water per year, resulting in lawns being the main water user for both residential and commercial properties in general, noted the release.
The $460,000 multi-lingual campaign distributes free water collection buckets as well as Brown is the New Green lawn signs for residents to show off their brown lawns and inspire others to become a part of the campaign, continued the release.
“The Brown is the New Green campaign aims to change immediate behaviors among both home and business owners to reduce outdoor watering during summer months. Doing so will have a great impact in helping to reach the state’s and our county’s water reduction goal of 20 percent,” said Teresa Alvarado, deputy administrative officer at the water district. “In these exceptional times, allowing one’s lawn to get a little brown this summer will help us get through until the rain once again begins to fall.”
