Nevada is the first state in the U.S. to ban ornamental grass.
Governor Steve Sisolak signed legislation Monday banning grass that no one ever walks on or uses in street medians, housing developments and office parks.
The bill only applies to residents in southern Nevada.
The grass ban will begin in 2027 and does not apply to homes or parks.
Water officials say the ban will eliminate about 40% of the grass in the region.
The Southern Nevada Water Authority estimates there are almost 8 square miles of ornamental grass -- grass that no one ever walks on or otherwise uses in street medians, housing developments and office parks.
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Las Vegas wants to become the first in the nation to pass policy banning grass that nobody walks on.
The Southern Nevada Water Authority estimates there are almost 8 square miles of ornamental grass -- grass that no one ever walks on or otherwise uses in street medians, housing developments and office parks.
Officials say ornamental grass requires four times as much water as drought tolerant landscaping like cactus and other succulents. Officials estimate the region can save about 14 gallons of water per person per day by ripping out the ornamental grass.
“The scale of this is pretty unprecedented in terms of a full ban on this nonfunctional turf,” said John Berggren, a water policy analyst at Western Resource Advocates.
Last year was among the driest in the region’s history, when Las Vegas went a record 240 days without measurable rainfall. And the future flow of the Colorado River, which accounts for 90% of southern Nevada’s water, is in question.
“To be clear, we are not coming after your average homeowner’s backyard,” he said. But grass in the middle of a parkway, where no one walks: “That’s dumb.”
“The only people that ever set foot on grass that’s in the middle of a roadway system are people cutting the grass,” Jones said.
Though California imposed a temporary ban on watering ornamental grass during last decade’s drought, but no state or major city has tried to phase out certain categories of grass permanently.
(Copyright 2021 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.)
