St. George • When it comes to getting off the grass, southwest Utah residents are getting converted.
Since the launch of a Water Efficient Landscape Program in December 2022, according to Washington County Water Conservancy District 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.
By district officials’ reckoning, that will result in an annual saving of 90 million gallons of water in the drought-prone area – enough to supply 500 homes per year.
“It’s the equivalent of stretching out an 18-inch strip of sod from St. George to Provo,” Doug Bennett, the district’s water conservation manager said. “So imagine a guy pushing a lawnmower from St. George to Provo. Maybe that should be our next publicity stunt.”
Cash for conversion
Still, water managers are pleased with the success of the current program, which pays businesses and homeowners up to $2 per square foot to scrap and replace grass with more water-efficient landscaping. Over the past year, Bennett said, the district dished out $4.2 million to property owners and helped them on 931 projects that ripped out roughly 1.1 million square feet of grass.
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.
Moreover, the state foots the bill for half the district’s grass-replacement costs.
The district’s cash-for-conversion effort has California native Miguel Garcia’s attention, who has heard positive feedback about the program from people who have ditched their grass.
“I’m closing on a home soon,” said Garcia, who is moving from San Bernardino to Hurricane. “If I can save money on my water bill by replacing grass with native plants that use less water and some decorative rock, that’s certainly worth looking into.”
Bennett said word of mouth is important for the program’s continued success.
“I can tell people that … replacing their grass will result in 30% less labor demands and they will use less fuel, pesticides and fertilizer,” he said. “But when a neighbor who has replaced their grass tells them, ‘My [monthly] water bills in the summer used to be $200 but now down to $90,’ that means a lot more to people.”
A drop in the bucket
For all the water the district’s program has saved, it pales in comparison with the replacement of 215 million square feet of lawn that Bennett oversaw as conservation manager for the Southern Nevada Water Authority before joining the Washington County’s water district in May 2022.
That being said, Bennett notes, the local district is roughly one-tenth the size of the one in Nevada, which during the drought between 2004 and 2006 was replacing as much as 30 million square feet per year. He said examining lawn-replacement numbers on a per capita basis shows that Washington County is fairly competitive with the Las Vegas area.
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.
To make progress on trimming that total, district officials are contemplating working with state lawmakers and lending institutions to close the gap between the $3,000, on average, the program dispenses to homeowners and the $11,000 or more homeowners often expend to replace grass with water-wise landscaping.
“A lot of people have lazy grass,” Bennet said, “but not all of them have thousands of dollars in their pocket to cover the cost of landscaping to replace that grass.”
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.
Washington County’s population is projected to more than double to about 465,000 by 2060. To keep pace with that growth, the district unveiled a 20-year master plan 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.
‘Conservation loves a crisis’
Climate change is also a major driver of water conservation. After a two-year reprieve from a prolonged drought thanks to two above-average water years, lower Washington County has slipped back into severe drought conditions, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor.
Statewide, Utah’s snowpack currently stands at 81% of normal, according to the Utah Department of Natural Resources. Precipitation in the St. George area is 46% of normal since the beginning of October, which has water district officials monitoring the weather.
Bennett said the drought conditions could incentivize more people to replace their grass and save water.
“Conservation loves a crisis,” he said. “Drought can get people’s attention and make them consider how much they might benefit the community by changing their own landscaping.”
