SAN DIEGO -- The San Diego City Council approved an emergency water conservation plan Monday night.

It calls for mandatory water-saving measures for all businesses and homeowners, including a ban on landscape irrigation runoff and schedules for outdoor watering.

Some homeowners, however, have already taken steps to save water.

10news reporter, Joe Little, shows us what they're doing and how much they're saving.

Mary Jane Olenski says she loves the outdoors.

“I enjoy the plants. I enjoy the textures of the plants. I enjoy the aromas of the different plants,” Olenski said.

She said she also loved her grass until it got too expensive.

“In order to support a landscape with grass you must water it constantly,” Olenski said.

About 4 years ago, Olenski said, she traded her green grass for drought-resistant plants.

She said she used to water her grass three to four times a week. Now, she said, these native California plants require a lot less.

“Without rain? Once a week. Once every two weeks.

Green grass will turn brown on that schedule.

Experts say, every time you run your sprinklers, you're using about 50-gallons a minute.

“That's the equivalent of using, about washing a load of clothes every minute that the irrigation system is on,” said Vickie Driver, with Friends of The Water Conservation Garden.

That's why Driver says she loves her drought-resistant plants.

Her front yard is full of them. Some are native, some not. All, however, require very little water.

Driver said many people fear giving up their grass because they think there's nothing else out there.

“There's no reason to feel like you don't have any choices,” Driver said. It was an easy choice for Olenski. She's saving about 30-percent on her water bill and she still has a beautiful yard to show for it.

The average yard accounts for about 60-percent of your water bill.

You can save money by cutting down on how often you water.

We've placed a link to a "Watering Calculator" on our website.

On the main page, click on the red t-v button.