Nevada’s Water Smart Program

The first-of-its-kind, Nevada Assembly Bill 356 (“AB356”), prohibits the use of Colorado River water to irrigate non-functional grass (non-functional is used to describe decorative turf). The law applies to customers within the Southern Nevada Water Authority (“SNWA”) jurisdiction, which includes Las Vegas and surrounding areas. The ban, passed in 2021, will take effect in 2027. This blog discusses what has led up to this law, implementation of the law and the positive impacts on water savings.

In 1992, Nevada signed a contract with the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation (“USBR”) allowing Nevada to draw 300,000 ac-ft per year, plus surplus water, from the Colorado River in accordance with the 1922 Compact (see CO Water Law Series #14.1 blog). From 1990 to 2020, the population of the Las Vegas area increased over 300 percent to over 1 million people (World Population Review, 2023). Colorado River water constitutes 90 percent of the region’s water, according to the New York Times; the remaining 10 percent is groundwater.

As a result of the increased population and urban development, in conjunction with the limited supply of Colorado River water, the SNWA offered water users a “Water Smart Landscapes Rebate” to encourage removal of lawns with more water-efficient landscaping beginning in 1999. This program offered a rebate to single- and multi-family dwellings, businesses, and homeowner associations. By 2007, millions of square feet of turf had been removed. The program received additional funding in 2007, 2010, 2015, and 2018. In 2017, the SNWA hosted a WaterSmart Innovations Conference and Exposition dedicated to urban water efficiency. The SNWA and Las Vegas Water District were inaugurated into the Leading Utilities of the World organization as a result of their efforts to conserve water and energy.

The voluntary program has likely saved billions of gallons of water over the 24-year period; however, the SNWA foresaw that additional efforts were necessary. Unlike most places in the US, people in Las Vegas can visualize the health of their water supply by taking a trip to Lake Mead. The lake level has been declining since 2000 (Figure 1) when it was near its full pool level of 1,229 feet above mean sea level (“ft amsl”). In 2022, it was at 1,047 ft amsl or 182 ft below full (USBR, 2022).

Figure 1: Historical Hydrograph of Lake Mead (USBR, 2022)

The 2012-2015 Integrated Resource Planning Advisory Committee proposed rated increases to fund a low lake level pumping station (Figure 2) that was completed for $1.5 billion and began operation in 2022. This was the latest and perhaps ultimate engineering effort to protect the water supply of Las Vegas and surrounding areas.

Figure 2: Low Lake Level Pumping Station (New York Times,2022)

Meanwhile, the SNWA brought forward AB356 to require mandatory participation in the SNWA’s effort to remove non-functional turf. The bill modifies existing laws relating to water conservation (BDR S-1090) and requires the removal and/or replacement of grass by the end of 2026 throughout southern Nevada at commercial, multi-family, government and other properties. It does not apply to grass in homeowners' yards, or to grass used for recreation at schools and parks. The SNWA does restrict homeowner’s use seasonally, and as of February 2023, a 1-day per week water restriction is in place.

The law is anticipated to save 11 gallons of water per person per day by removing 5,000 acres of turf. The amount of Colorado River water used to maintain that acreage amounts to 10 percent of the Nevada’s Colorado River apportionment (Storm Water Report, 2021).

Nevada Assemblyman Howard Watts III, a sponsor of the bill, told the Associated Press, “This sends a clear message about what other states need to be looking at in order to preserve water.”

While Nevada is developing laws to help conserve water associated with residential and commercial irrigation, Colorado has not taken such initiatives to date. Along the Front Range in Colorado where rye grass, sheep fescue, and wheat grass are native species, communities prefer non-native grasses that require irrigation, such as bluegrass. The amount of water used by the average household in Colorado is discussed in the next blog in this series… STAY TUNED!

If you have any water resources issues, LWS can help; please contact us for help at 303-350-4090 or by email.

Maura Metheny, Ph.D., P.G.: maura@lytlewater.com

Bruce Lytle, P.E.: bruce@lytlewater.com

Anna Elgqvist, EI: anna@lytlewater.com

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References Reviewed

Northeastern Global News, 2023. Why Experts Say Lawns Should Become a Thing of the Past. (Available at https://news.northeastern.edu/2022/09/08/las-vegas-lawn-ban/#:~:text=A%20new%20Las%20Vegas%20law,them%20with%20drought%2Dfriendly%20alternatives).

Lakes Online.Com, 2023. Lake Mead Water Level. (Available at https://mead.uslakes.info/level.asp).

Nevada Electronic Legislative Information System (NELIS), 2023. AB356. (Available at https://www.leg.state.nv.us/App/NELIS/REL/81st2021/Bill/7910/Overview).

New York Times, 2022. Where Lawns are Outlawed (and Dug Up and Carted Away). (Available at https://www.nytimes.com/2022/05/03/climate/las-vegas-lawn-grass-ban.html).

PBS.Org, 2023. Drought-stricken Nevada Enacts Ban on Non-functional Grass. (Available at https://www.pbs.org/newshour/nation/drought-stricken-nevada-enacts-ban-on-non-functional-grass).

Southern Nevada Water Authority, 2023. Website. (Available at https://www.snwa.com/).

Storm Water Report, 2021. Drought-stricken Southern Nevada to Ban ‘Non-functional Grass. (Available at https://stormwater.wef.org/2021/06/drought-stricken-southern-nevada-to-ban-non-functional-grass/).

USBR 2022. https://www.usbr.gov/lc/region/g4000/lakemead_line.pdf

World Population Review, 2022. Census Data. (Available at https://worldpopulationreview.com/us-cities/las-vegas-nv-population).