Fresno and Clovis HOAs go one step further to conserve water in another dry summer

CLOVIS, Calif. (KFSN) -- For the most part, Jim Moak's plants have survived the drought, but months ago, his lawn died. "Watering two days a week just doesn't cut it for a lawn," Moak said.

Tired of looking at a dead front yard, he recently paid more than $1,000 for a small patch of TigerTurf. Moak and his wife live at Harlan Ranch, a Clovis community that prides itself on award-winning landscaping.

But in May, he got a letter from the Harlan Ranch HOA. It states that the association will stop watering some lawn medians, will not add any new plants, and will continue to water front yards and common areas twice a week. Moak says he's on board with the new water-saving measures, but not everyone is doing their part.

"Ninety percent of people are doing it but you get some people like down the street, the lawns are nice and green and you go hmm," Moak said.

Moak says in the fourth consecutive drought year, it's time everyone cooperates with the new rules.

Samuel Goza is with Robert L. Jensen & Associates, a property management company that works with nearly 30 HOAs in the Fresno-Clovis area. He says some HOAs are slower than others to adapt to the drought, and some residents aren't ready to cooperate.

"There's people that are unhappy with the fact that we can't irrigate our lawns and keep them green," said Goza. "But we can't change the law or the directives of the state, county, and city."

Monday afternoon, Goza showed Action News one Northwest Fresno gated community that he says is being proactive this year. They've installed new nozzles, a drip irrigation system, and traded grass for shrubs, which he says will cut water usage by 40 to 50 percent. But it's not cheap.

"Initially it's thousands and thousands of dollars to do this, far more than the equivalent irrigation expense would be, but again over a period of time, it would pay for itself probably seven or eight years," Goza said.

So for any homeowner wondering where their association dues are going now, Jim Moak says they have their answer.

"In fact, I think it would probably cost them more for what they're doing, taking a bunch of stuff out and putting all this ground cover in," he said. "So it doesn't bother me."