DROUGHT CONDITIONS (SUMMER DORMANCY):  Many lawns can survive drought quite well by going dormant (leaves turn brown), if the turf is healthy and damage from insects, diseases, or foot traffic are minimal.  Drought-induced dormancy of lawns in New Jersey is rarely long enough to cause failure of the grass, if the lawn is healthy. Allowing an unhealthy lawn to go dormant on poor soils will result in severe thinning of the lawn.  Thinning of the turf enables weeds to invade the lawn when rain re-wets the soil, thus increasing the need for herbicides. In severe cases, thinning of the lawn will result in erosion of exposed soil during rainstorms increasing the likelihood of water quality impacts through sedimentation. Thus, maintaining a healthy turf cover on a lawn enhances both drought resistance and environmental quality.