Las Vegas Valley converted 250 million sq ft of lawn to save water, saving 203 billion gallons

A major effort to remove grass lawns across the Las Vegas Valley has saved 203 billion gallons of water, but environmental research shows that the large-scale change has also brought a serious rise in local surface temperatures. According to data from the Southern Nevada Water Authority’s Water Smart Landscapes Rebate programme, property owners across the metropolitan area have removed 250 million square feet of non-functional grass since 1999. The programme offers financial incentives of up to $5 per square foot to help residential and commercial property owners replace water-heavy lawns with desert landscaping and drip irrigation. The push gained legal backing after the Nevada Legislature passed Assembly Bill 356, alongside earlier laws including the Nevada Revised Statutes Water Conservation and Colorado River Act. The law requires decorative, non-functional grass to be removed from commercial properties, multi-family buildings, government sites and homeowners association properties across the region. However, scientific research into the effects of large-scale grass removal has found that getting rid of lawns can also raise local surface temperatures, particularly during the ho...