Vegas ban on ‘non functional grass’ in response to record drought
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(Copyright 2021 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.)A new conservation effort signed into law in Nevada will ban "non-functional" grass in Las Vegas and see almost a third of all grass in Southern Nevada removed.
Nevada Governor Steve Sisolak signed a bill into law on Friday enacting the sweeping conservation efforts, according to the Las Vegas Review-Journal.
Under the new bill, nearly a third of the grass in the southern part of the state will have to be removed by 2026.
The legislation comes as the state is facing its first federal water shortage, a side-effect of the massive drought impacting the US southwest and West Coast.
Lake Mead, which provides water to Las Vegas and the surrounding region, is only 37 per cent full, which is nearing its record low point.
“I think that it’s incumbent upon us for the next generation to be more conscious of our conservation of our natural resources, water being particularly important,” Mr Sisolak told reporters last week.
The Colorado River, which feeds Lake Mead and provides water for some of the southwest's most populated areas, including Phoenix and Southern California, is normally replenished by melting snow in the region's mountains. This year's melt-off was lower than average, contributing to the mega-drought and prompting action from lawmakers across the region.
Assembly Bill 356 will prohibit water from the river distributed by the Southern Nevada Water Authority from being used to irrigate "nonfunctional turf." That mandate will begin on 1 January 2027.
According to the water authority, that will include grass between roads and sidewalks, as well as traffic circles, medians and decorative grass.
Single-family homes, golf courses and parks are excluded from the prohibition.
An estimated 3,900 to 4,000 acres of nonfunctional grass – approximately 6 square miles – will eventually be removed.
The prohibition falls in line with the water authority's longstanding recommendations to home and business owners to remove their grass and opt for more region-appropriate desert lawns.
The water authority offered $3 for every square foot of turf converted to desert landscape. Thus far, the program has encouraged the removal of more than 4,500 acres of grass.
Homeowners have largely been compliant, opting to remove approximately 60 per cent of the unused turfy targeted by the water authority.
However, businesses have been less proactive, removing only 20 per cent of the intended goal over the past 20 years.
Water officials expect a formal declaration that a water shortage is in effect to be made sometime in August.
If it occurs, it would reduce Southern Nevada's share of 300,000 acre-feet of water from the Colorado River to 13,000 acre-feet.
To provide some perspective, about one acre-foot of water accounts for two Las Vegas Valley homes use over 16 months.
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