Today's News in San Diego

Monday, May 4, 2009 Coming this summer to an inland neighborhood near you: Brown lawns.

Mayor Jerry Sanders unveiled a plan Monday to designate specific lawn watering days for all residents and businesses, a step one horticulture expert said would "absolutely" cause brown and dying lawns across the city this summer. The risk would be higher farther inland.

Sanders' plan would allow residents in odd-numbered houses to water their lawns on Sundays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays. Even-numbered houses would be permitted to irrigate Mondays, Wednesdays and Saturdays. Businesses, condos, apartments and homeowners associations would be allowed to water on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays.

"Today, we're poised at the beginning of a new era in San Diego's water history," Sanders said.The plan heads to City Council for consideration and possible approval Tuesday afternoon.

It comes as the city faces mandatory water cuts from its suppliers for the first time since the early 1990s.If approved, regulations would begin June 1 permitting residents to water for 10 minutes on each specified day and only between the hours of 6 p.m. and 10 a.m., when less water is lost to evaporation.

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