Restricting outdoor water use

Nonfunctional turf is grass that no one uses for sports, picnics or other recreational activities. Some areas of nonfunctional turf are simply narrow strips grass bordering parking lots, walkways, and sidewalks. These narrow areas of purely decorative grass create significant amounts of sprinkler overspray and water waste.

Other examples of nonfunctional turf are found along streets between the curb and sidewalk; in traffic circles and medians; in landscaping at office parks and commercial properties, and at entryways for housing developments.

If the only person that uses the grass is pushing a lawn mower, it’s nonfunctional.

We estimate that there are approximately 5,000 acres of nonfunctional turf throughout Southern Nevada. That’s a lot of purely decorative grass.

Water is a limited resource in our desert community, so conservation is a priority for everyone who lives here. Water levels at Lake Mead are projected to drop to historic lows in 2021 due to ongoing drought conditions. This will cause the federal government to declare the first-ever water shortage along the Colorado River, resulting in a reduction to Nevada’s water allocation by about 7 billion gallons.

Nonfunctional, decorative grass in our valley soaks up about 12 billion gallons of water every year, equal to about 10 percent of Southern Nevada’s current allocation from the Colorado River. Replacing this water-thirsty grass with desert-friendly plants would save the community about 9.5 billion gallons per year.

No. The legislation doesn’t include single-family residential homes that have grass in the back or front yard. We estimate that approximately 1,000 acres of nonfunctional turf remains at residential properties—primarily front- yard grass. However, we encourage residents to voluntarily convert any unused grass to drip-irrigated, desert-friendly plants and trees, and we offer a cash incentive to help offset those costs.

We support the continued use of grass for recreational activities (organized sports, exercise, picnicking, etc.). We estimate there are about 7,600 acres of grass used for these purposes in the Las Vegas valley – in parks, schools, and sports fields.

The legislation prohibits the use of Colorado River water to irrigate the nearly 4,000 acres of nonfunctional turf on properties that are not zoned exclusively for single-family residences after Jan. 1, 2027. It calls for the formation of a Nonfunctional Turf Removal Advisory Committee to provide community input and feedback from stakeholders affected by the proposal. The five-year timeline between the legislation’s passage and the deadline for turf removal will ensure the community can transition to water efficient landscaping with opportunities for community input and feedback.

Desert plants, including canopy trees and flowering bushes, are great for shading and cooling outdoor areas. On a hot summer day, you see more people sitting in the shade than in the middle of the grass. Tree canopies and plants shade sidewalks, buildings and rock ground coverings, helping reduce heat absorption while using less water than grass. Not to mention, bees love and need flowering desert plants! Grass doesn’t need to be replaced solely with rocks and cacti. In fact, there are great examples throughout our valley of lush desert landscaping that is as beautiful as it is practical for our climate (and our dogs). By the way, if you’re looking for inspiration, visit the Springs Preserve or check out our list of recommended plants.

SNWA is responsible for ensuring our community’s water needs are met. To do this, we maintain a 50-year water resource plan that accounts for population projections and pairs the necessary resources to meet water demands over the next half-century. While Southern Nevada has a limited water supply from the Colorado River, we use it very efficiently by recycling and safely returning all indoor water use back to Lake Mead. Every gallon returned allows us to take another gallon out of the lake, treating it to safe drinking water standards. So, indoor water use has little to no impact on the amount of water our community depletes from the lake.

Water used outdoors is only used once, and not returned to Lake Mead. Reducing outdoor water use provides the greatest water savings. Replacing nonfunctional grass with drip-irrigated desert plants saves water without affecting our community’s quality of life.

It is a common misperception that golf courses (along with resorts) use large amounts of the community’s water, primarily due to the high visibility of these sectors. In reality, golf courses use about 6 percent of our area’s water, compared to the 60 percent used by residents.

Several important actions have been taken to reduce golf course water use over the past two decades. First, every course in Southern Nevada is subject to strict water budgets, and high penalties are levied for exceeding them—up to nine times the top-tier water rate.

Many local golf courses have participated in the Southern Nevada Water Authority’s program for converting grass to desert landscape, even using GPS-equipped golf balls to determine areas of courses that never saw play and could be removed. A major strategy used by golf courses to manage their water use is removing turf from non-playing areas outside the fairways and on driving ranges. A water savings of 55 gallons per square foot is realized for areas converted from turfgrass to drip-irrigated desert landscapes. Since 1999, 30 local golf courses have removed more than 900 acres of grass.

Resorts consume about 4 percent of our community’s water supply – that’s the water that is only used once and not recycled. In addition, new resorts are required to submit water efficiency plans to encourage efficient water management practices. Viewed from the state level, the resort sector uses less than one-half of one percent of the Nevada’s water supply, while employing about 21 percent of the state’s workforce.

In 1922, the seven states that share the Colorado River signed the Colorado River Compact, which apportions water from the river to the states. The compact was established almost a century ago, when Nevada had a very small population, and renegotiating this agreement would likely result in protracted litigation. The Southern Nevada Water Authority is pursuing more timely partnerships with these seven states designed to ensure cooperation, prevent litigation and ensure efficient use of Colorado River water.

For example, the SNWA is exploring a partnership with the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California in which the Authority would invest in a large-scale water recycling program. In return, SNWA would be able to access additional water supplies of California’s share of the Colorado River.

In July, the Water Authority Board of Directors appointed nine individuals representing commercial and industrial properties, homeowners associations, golf courses, multifamily properties, environmental interests and municipalities to the Nonfunctional Turf Advisory Committee.

Committee meetings are underway, open to the public and can be viewed online. Public comment can be made at the meeting or submitted online to be included within the committee’s meeting materials. To request meeting agendas, email us.