The Washington County Water Conservancy District in Utah has seen success with a program incentivizing residents to replace their water-intensive lawns with more efficient landscaping. Over 2 million square feet of grass have been removed, saving an estimated 90 million gallons of water annually. The program, which pays up to $2 per square foot for conversion, has cost $4.2 million in the past year but is seen as a cost-effective measure compared to building new water infrastructure.
officials, property owners in the state’s fifth-most populous county have replaced more than 2 million square feet of grass with more water-efficient landscaping.
While that may seem expensive, district officials insist it is a bargain. Paying homeowners to save water by replacing their grass costs about $18,000 per acre-foot of water, compared to the $30,000 per acre-foot the district would pay to build costly new water sources and other infrastructure. An acre-foot of water is approximately 326,000 gallons and is about how much water two households use in a year.
Far from taking a victory lap, though, county water managers realize they have much more to do. Bennett estimates the county is home to another 50 million square feet of “lazy grass,” the term used to define nonfunctional grass that is not used and serves no purpose other than to suck up water. One possible solution, Utah water managers have floated, is to create a program that would assist banks to offer zero-interest loans that homeowners could use for landscaping costs and pay back over time with the money they would be saving from lower water bills.last July that calls for securing another 47,000 acre-feet of water by 2042 by conserving more water and constructing a $1 billion regional reuse system.Climate change is also a major driver of water conservation.
WATER CONSERVATION DROUGHT LANDSCAPING UTAH PROGRAM
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