Waste not, want not


1


Las Vegas nevada


2


Phoenix arizona


3


El Paso texas


4


Albuquerque new mexico


5


San Diego california


24 · LAND&PEOPLE · SPRING/SUMMER 2013


average yearly rainfall


4.49 inches


average yearly rainfall


8.29 inches


average yearly rainfall


9.43 inches


average yearly rainfall


9.47 inches


average yearly rainfall


10.77 inches


A recycled resource With up to 90 percent of the water supply imported from outside the city, San Diego strives to put every drop to good use—sometimes twice. In city parks, distinctive purple sprinkler heads mark the spots where reclaimed wastewater is used to irrigate lawns and playing fields.


On the other end of the spectrum is New Orleans, the nation’s wettest major metropolis with an average rainfall of 64 inches a year. Learn how the city’s biggest park weathered Hurricane Katrina on page 34.


Some like it hot It’s not all quicksand and cow skulls. Rather than water its way to a greener look, Phoenix embraces a desert identity, celebrat- ing its unique natural beauty with protected landscapes like South Mountain Preserve. Boast- ing 50 miles of rugged trails across more than 16,000 acres, this metro- politan park is one of the largest in the country.


what counts


Water wisdom from the nation’s driest cities


while other regions wrestle with storms and flooding, the West’s water woes are all about scarcity. From savvy land- scaping to high-tech irrigation systems, city parks in arid climates take a variety of approaches to conserving the region’s most precious resource. Here are the five driest major U.S. cities—and a few ways they’re working to do more with less.


The right plants for the job


“Xeriscaping” comes from the Greek word for dry—which Albuquerque certainly is. It means water-smart landscaping, like choosing desert flowers and native grasses instead of traditional lawns. The city uses these tech- niques in public parks, and offers rebates to residents who do the same in their own gardens.


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