Loans help with water-saving projects in Modesto and beyond

Ryan and Martha Cheney’s backyard turf will stay green no matter how much Modesto restricts water use.

They installed artificial grass through a loan program for water and energy conservation projects, known as HERO.

The loan for about $6,000 covered the purchase and installation of 660 square feet of turf at their home in the La Loma neighborhood.

“With the drought, I didn’t want to spend all that money for sod and have it die,” Ryan Cheney said while standing in the yard Thursday morning.

The family completed the project in October, during the third year of drought. It could turn out to be an especially good move, as city officials have broached the possibility of a lawn-watering ban this year.

HERO, or Home Energy Renovation Opportunity, provides loans that can be repaid on property taxes over five to 20 years. They are available in most of Stanislaus, Merced and San Joaquin counties for low-flow faucets, graywater recycling, solar panels, insulation, air conditioning and dozens of other projects. Businesses as well as homeowners can apply.

HERO, a private outfit, arranges the loans at no cost to the city and county governments that have approved the program.

“Our goal is to provide homeowners with affordable financing for projects that will reduce their water usage in their homes and yards by more than 25 percent,” J.P. McNeill, chief executive officer of Renovate America, which administers HERO, said in a news release.

Gov. Jerry Brown has ordered a 25 percent cut in urban water use statewide. Modesto and many other parts of the Central Valley face a reduction reduction of up to 36 percent because of their higher per-capita consumption.

The Cheneys, who have three children, are repaying their loan over five years at 5.9 percent interest. Ryan Cheney works with his father and brothers at Sierra Casework, a cabinet shop in Modesto.

The artificial grass was made by Turf Evolutions and sold through Home Depot. The installation cost included removing about 3 inches of dirt and bringing in crushed rock that was compacted into a base for the new surface.

Cheney figures that replanting real grass and installing sprinklers would have cost about $3,500. He said the HERO application process was easy, the turf has a 15-year warranty, and it adds to the home’s value.

“And we don’t have to mow it,” he said. “We don’t have to water it. We don’t have to weed it. ... And the kids love it, especially the baby.”

That would be Norah, 2. Sister Natalie is 12, and brother Nathan is 11. The family also has a dog, Porter, and uses a bleach spray on the fake grass if he happens to leave something there.

Martha Cheney found only one downside to the project: “I miss that fresh-cut-grass smell.”

This story was originally published April 18, 2015 at 7:38 PM with the headline "Loans help with water-saving projects in Modesto and beyond."