Kiplinger had a good article on moving away from the lawn aesthetic. I don’t want to think about the amount of water that is wasted, but:

American yards have a drinking problem. for decades, we’ve bought into the aesthetic of the perpetually green lawn — watered, fertilized and pest-free. And we’ve landscaped our yards with exotic plants that crave more water than the climate naturally supplies.

At 32 million acres, lawns are the largest irrigated crop in the U.S. We pamper them with one-third of all the residential water used daily (7 billion gallons); in some regions, it’s as much as 50% to 70%.

 

The article actually suggests rainwater harvesting! There was also a little sidebar stating that at least "36 states are anticipating water shortages within five years. Municipalities and utilities face a challenge: Either build expensive and often unpopular new infrastructure or motivate people to use less water." I wonder which option will be chosen initially. I’ve heard of Californian cities and towns successfully implementing water conservation projects…but will that work in these 36 states? Another alternative would be to steal like Georgia did when Georgia recently claimed a sliver of the Tennessee River. There is also the option of reusing bath/washer water to flush a toilet either by the use of a bucket or by buying a contraption.