North Hills homeowner takes out lawn to save water

LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- With mandatory water restrictions statewide due to the drought, a homeowner in North Hills is taking out her lawn in an effort to save water.

Across Los Angeles, the grass is getting the boot, and Turf Terminators is one of the companies tearing it up in part because it doesn't cost homeowners a thing.

"We take the rebates from the Metropolitan Water District. We don't charge homeowners any money out of pocket, so they can get a nice drought-tolerant landscape for free," said Andrew Farrell of Turf Terminators.

Business could get even better following Gov. Jerry Brown's plan to remove 50 million square feet of lawn across the state -- all to save water

"It was costing so much money to water, and it's just a pain to maintain," said homeowner Marise Freitas. "I have been wanting to do this for a while."

Cities and towns will be expected to reduce water usage by 25 percent. Those that don't could face fines up to $10,000.

The crackdown comes as California moves toward its fourth summer of drought with no relief in sight.

"People should realize, we are in a new era. The idea of your nice little green grass getting lots of water every day, that's going to be a thing of the past," Brown said.

On Thursday, retired secretary Brenda Johnson stood in the doorway of her Sacramento home contemplating her lovingly tended lawn and azalea bushes. Johnson did not love the idea of brown as the new green.

"With the money I put into it, I don't want it to go dry," said Johnson, who got a warning letter from the city last year for watering her front yard on the wrong day.

"I don't want a dead lawn," she said. "But change is hard, and you do adjust."

Brown's move to get tough on water use came after his push for voluntary conservation yielded mixed results. Californians were asked in January 2014 to cut water consumption by 20 percent, but residents achieved only about half that.

Affluent Southern California communities with lots of landscaping on automatic timers were some of the worst offenders, topping 300 gallons of water per person a day compared with 70 gallons for some San Francisco Bay Area communities.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.