In addition to wasting the resource, the overuse of water to maintain urban landscapes results in various types of pollution. Pesticides and fertilizers can present risks to the quality of drinking water. A national study of pesticides in surface and groundwater performed by the United States Geological Survey found pesticides, at very low levels, in at least half of the wells tested. New approaches to the way we manage water are key to meeting these challenges. Water managers, policy-makers and the general public must recognize that today's threats will become tomorrow's tragedies without swift action to combat climate change and reduce our use of water. The good news is by improving how efficiently we use water, we can protect the environment, provide for agriculture and industry, and ensure there is plenty of clean drinking water for people around the world.

Facts about landscape water use

. There are over 30 million acres of green lawns in the U.S.

. On average 50 - 70% of all household water is used outdoors.

. Every day 7.8 billion gallons of water is devoted to outdoor uses, mostly landscaping, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.

. Seventy million pounds of pesticide get applied to home lawns, trees, and shrubs a year, polluting groundwater and sending phosphates and nitrates into lakes and streams. 

. Some 54 million people mow their lawns each week in the summer, using 800 million gallons of gas a year.  More than 5 percent of urban air pollution comes from gas-powered lawn mowers.

. It takes 2.5 billion gallons of water to support the world's population of 4.7 billion people. IRONICALLY, this is the same amount of water 2.5 billion gallons that is used every day to irrigate the world's golf courses.

. The United Nation's World Water Development Report from its World Water Assessment Program in 2003 indicated that in the next 20 years the quantity of water available to everyone is predicted to decrease by 30%. Experts predict more trouble ahead because of the world's growing population, increasing contamination through pollution, and global warming.

. Scientists note that reservoir levels are dropping as cities like Phoenix and Las Vegas expand.  The Southwest drought has become so severe that even the sagebrush is dying.