Another indicator of a down economy: Rebates from water districts, encouragements for homeowners to install synthetic grass, are starting to dry up.

Some desert areas, such as Las Vegas and Scottsdale, Arizona, continue to offer residential customers incentives to replace (or not plant) natural grass in favor of artificial turf. In Las Vegas, residents who install water-wise landscaping such as synthetic grass receive $1.50 per square foot, with a limit of 5,000 square feet. In Scottsdale, the rebate is a maximum 50 cents per square foot. Some cities in the Coachella Valley Water District’s service area can receive $2.00 per square foot. And in other communities in the West, water-saving rebates can be had for installing waterless turf.

However, many water providers have discontinued their rebates since the high-water mark of 2009, when most residents in Southern California were eligible for H2O-saving rebates of 75 cents or more per square foot for installing artificial turf. The city of Riverside is an exception, still promoting $1.00 per square foot incentives; most municipalities have retracted rebate programs. The Metropolitan Water District of Southern California, a consortium of 26 agencies that once was a big backer of water-saving rebates for synthetic grass, now leaves those to the discretion of individual suppliers.

And most of those suppliers are not offering artificial grass rebates, because they are no longer being subsidized by the likes of the MWD or state governments – their allocated budgets were often depleted rebate programs proved more popular than anticipated. (However, MWD’s SoCal Water $mart rebates for installing water-conservation items as clothes washers, toilets, irrigation controllers and nozzles remain in effect, and a “Residential Turf Grass Removal Rebate” that excludes synthetic grass installation is also offered.)

In 2006, the city of Palm Springs sponsored a $4.00/square foot rebate for residential synthetic grass swaps, making installation much more affordable. Today there is no incentive. “That doesn’t mean the water companies don’t acknowledge that installing artificial turf saves a lot of water – it does,” said Dave Koller, conservation coordinator for Coachella Valley. Since the Southern Nevada Water Authority began rebates in 2002, it estimates 10 billion gallons water that would have gone to irrigate lawns have been saved by the replace-natural-grass program.

To learn if synthetic grass rebates are available in your area, contact your water provider.

In the beginning of infilled synthetic grass, there was a void, a multitude of space between the fibers where a “synthetic soil” belonged.

It was decreed that rubber, ground from tires, could serve as the infill material for that turf. And the athletes who played on that first generation of turf saw that it was good … until their revelation that the granules bounced around, and under full sun the black rubber absorbed heat of biblical proportions. This begat the introduction of raw silica as infill … which led to an epiphany that mere sand was abrasive like sandpaper, compacted hard, limited drainage, and absorbed all that the family dog dropped onto the turf. And it came to pass that to deliver artificial turf from these evils, a different infill was needed.

And so Synthetic Grass Warehouse introduced Durafill: the cool, clean and pet-friendly granules that make even non-believers sing its praise. Durafill, composed of rounded quartz core mined from the Hickory Formation in central Texas, is specially designed for use in artificial turf. It looks and feels natural and is warranted to perform for 16 years. Durafill is also manufactured with Microban antimicrobial product protection to inhibit the growth of bacteria, mold and mildew that can cause odors and even staining.

Compare to rubber

Unlike rubber, Durafill stays comparatively cool in synthetic grass; its heat-reducing properties lower surface temperatures by as much as 25%. Durafill’s mass stays securely in the turf pile without bounce or static cling, and its properties remain stable in even in the harshest weather conditions so your lawn is always a comfortable and beautiful place to relax or play.

Durafill’s complimentary green hues provide a more natural appearance in synthetic grass than black rubber — no “five o’clock shadow” effects. It’s also non-toxic — no worries about what those recycled tires picked up on the asphalt of Interstate 40 between Barstow and Amarillo and what got dumped in your backyard.

Compare to sand

Unlike raw silica, Durafill is non-abrasive, so children can play and slide on the surface safely all day. Its manufactured-round profile also makes it easier to install than the pointed edges of common sand.

Durafill’s quartz core and round shape resist compression so it won’t compact like a sandcastle at the beach and harden like cement, or prevent water from passing through the turf system. There’s no airborne silica dust associated with Durafill, and the product is exempt from California’s Proposition 65 product safety standards protecting people and animals.

Incomparable for pets

Durafill offers unsurpassed protection for pet turf applications. Other infill materials can retain moisture – and where there is moisture, there is mold, mildew and odor causing bacteria. Non-absorbent Durafill infill with Microban technology helps prevent microbes such as odor causing bacteria from breaking down pet urine into pungent ammonia smells.

When a dog “does his business” Durafill rinses clean and promotes proper drainage for a cleaner surface for rest or frolic.

Good for the earth and its inhabitants

Durafill is durable and has been tested for safe use. The turf can be reused and repurposed after the life of a turfed lawn so it won’t be clogging up a landfill.

For the synthetic grass consumer or landscaping professional seeking a worry-free material with performance characteristics plus durability , history of safe use and demanding guaranteed quality –Durafill is a heaven-sent infill.

Same as carpet, artificial turf looks bad when it’s matted down. Why does one synthetic grass flop over like a wet taco, while another stands tall and looks natural? It really doesn’t take a Ph.D. in Turfology to grasp the concept.

The polyethylene yarns in today’s turf are manufactured to stand perpendicular to the backing, but with suppleness and resiliency similar to natural grass. The idea is to look and feel like a natural lawn, and synthetic grass does this well. Sometimes it does the job too well.

Under heavy traffic, the blades of natural grass get stomped and matted, and synthetic grass behaves the same way. But while Mother Nature can regenerate or grow new fibers, synthetic grass needs the benefit of a good brushing – or forward-thinking engineering – to look good again.

Installation techniques, infill in particular, helps prevent matting in artificial turf. If no one walked on a synthetic lawn, the fibers wouldn’t be subjected to pressure and wouldn’t bend. Because most synthetic grass will be walked on, infilling — distributing granules among the synthetic grass blades and working it into the pile – is necessary. In filling the voids, proper infill gives the long synthetic fibers something to lean on when they are pressed and bent, enhancing the resilient performance characteristics of the yarn.

The choice of turf also determines whether turf is going to lay down on the job. Synthetic grass with wider blades of thicker microns typically stand up best to heavy traffic best. Also, in general, shorter blades (such as those found in SGW’s Pet Turf) will mat down less than taller blades.

However, thanks to advanced design and manufacture, SGW offers tall turfs that provide superior resistance to matting plus lifelike texture and appearance characteristics. Distinctive “memory fiber” technology delivers superior resiliency, even in heavy traffic, for synthetic grass 1¾-inch and taller.

The Diamond and Diamond Pro turfs feature “S” and “C” yarn extrusions with spines and concaves that improves bounce-back. Diamond Pro Spring is the first turf with the exclusive, revolutionary “W” corrugated yarn; its multiple spinal reinforcements are microscopic, but they are the biggest advancements in forward-thinking against that old bugaboo – matted-down carpet.