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A look at competing math on pools versus lawns

In this photo taken on Thursday, May 21, 2015, Jake Hall, 10, dives into a backyard pool in Long Beach, Calif. As residents struggle to reduce potable water consumption by 25 percent, the California Pool and Spa Association is promoting a campaign called Let’s Pool Together and aggressively lobbying water districts to quash proposed bans on filling pools and spas. (AP Photo/Chris Carlson)
In this photo taken on Thursday, May 21, 2015, Jake Hall, 10, dives into a backyard pool in Long Beach, Calif. As residents struggle to reduce potable water consumption by 25 percent, the California Pool and Spa Association is promoting a campaign called Let’s Pool Together and aggressively lobbying water districts to quash proposed bans on filling pools and spas. (AP Photo/Chris Carlson) In this photo taken on Thursday, May 21, 2015, Jake Hall, 10, dives into a backyard pool in Long Beach, Calif. As residents struggle to reduce potable water consumption by 25 percent, the California Pool and Spa Association is promoting a campaign called Let’s Pool Together and aggressively lobbying water districts to quash proposed bans on filling pools and spas. (AP Photo/Chris Carlson)

By Associated Press 3 min read

ORANGE, Calif. (AP) – The drought gripping California has the swimming pool and spa industry on the offensive. Pool contractors worry about damage to their business as water districts consider bans on filling new pools and refilling existing ones.

Here is a look at the numbers being cited by three different parties who are concerned about the installation – or lack of installation – of new pools in California this summer:

-THE SWIMMING POOL AND SPA INDUSTRY

The California Pool and Spa Association estimates that, after an initial fill, a standard-sized backyard swimming pool plus deck results in one-third less water use than a similarly sized, irrigated lawn. The calculation is for a pool with no evaporation cover.

With a cover, the pool becomes as efficient as a backyard planted with drought-tolerant, California-native plant species, according to John Norwood, the association’s president and chief lobbyist. Norwood’s calculations assume the pool and deck together cover 1,200 square feet.