Las Vegas Sun

March 19, 2024

WATER USAGE:

Dry economy could wither turf conversion program

Landscape design

What: Southern Nevada Water Authority desert landscaping design class

When: Feb. 28 at 2:30 p.m.

Where: Silver Springs Recreation Center, 1951 Silver Springs Pkwy.

Info: www.snwa.com or 258-7283; for more about Henderson's turf removal program, call 267-2000.

With its busiest time of the year fast approaching, the Southern Nevada Water Authority is hoping that its popular turf conversion program won't wilt in the withering economy.

This year, the Water Authority is paying $1.50 per square foot of turf replaced with desert landscaping, up to 1,500 square feet, and $1 per square foot thereafter, with a maximum rebate of $300,000.

Since the Water Smart Landscapes program is a rebate, however, it requires homeowners and businesses to do the work first. That up-front cost, combined with a shortfall between the average rebate and the average conversion cost, causes more than 30 percent of those who are accepted into the program to not follow through, Water Authority officials say.

With spending ability severely limited in the Las Vegas Valley, Conservation Programs Administrator Toby Bickmore said the Water Authority is emphasizing the cost-saving potential of turf conversion.

"Unfortunately, just the ways things are, water rates are increasing, just like power rates and everything else," he said. "(Turf conversion) may take a couple years to pay for itself, but in the long term, you'll be saving money on your water bills, which will undoubtedly be going up."

The Water Authority estimates that each square foot of turf removed saves 55 gallons of water per year. Multiplied by the size of a converted area and evaluated over time, Bickmore said, desert landscaping can amount to serious savings, both in water usage and utility bills.

To help residents overcome the daunting upfront costs, the city of Henderson is developing a pilot program that would provide low-interest landscaping loans to homeowners.

The program began in September with $250,000 in funding, which the city estimated would fund about 50 projects. Though the city expected the money to last for at least a year, it has already approved 46 applications and the waiting list is growing.

"We're excited that we have so many people who are willing to do a turf conversion," Department of Utility Services spokeswoman Kathleen Richards said.

The best way a homeowner can conserve water is to remove turf, Richards said. By removing just 400 square feet, roughly the size of a two-car garage, Richards said, the amount of water conserved each year is equivalent to four months of indoor use.

Though the city's present budget situation precludes the program from receiving additional funding, Richards said she is hopeful that participants will use their Water Authority rebates — loan applicants are required to be accepted into the Water Smart program first — to pay off the loan quickly and allow the city to fund more projects.

The program could be expanded later if and when the timing is right, she said.

"As the economy picks up and the city's budget sees better days, that's definitely something we will consider," she said.

Through January, Bickmore said, the number of Water Smart applications the Water Authority received was similar to 2006, before an increase in the rebate created a spike in applications. It's too early to tell just how much the economy could affect the program, he said.

"Obviously, the economy is going to affect us; there's no way around that," Bickmore said. "But we won't really know how much until we get into March."

To drum up interest in the program, the Water Authority is extending free classes it teaches at the Springs Preserve to other locations around the Las Vegas Valley. The class provides information about the program and free help with desert landscape design, and will be taught at the Silver Springs Recreation Center in Henderson on Feb. 28 at 2:30 p.m.

In addition to the turf conversion class, the Water Authority also offers free classes about indoor water conservation and drip irrigation systems.

Now is the time residents should be making plans, Bickmore said.

"If anybody is interested in doing any landscaping, especially turf conversion, now is the time to be thinking about it," he said.

Jeremy Twitchell can be reached at 990-8928 or [email protected].

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