Using community outreach and cash incentives, the area's Water Smart Landscaping Program has removed nearly 173 million square feet of natural grass. How much water is saved? OVER 9.5 BILLION GALLONS OF WATER PER YEAR, at 55 gallons per square foot.
After years of gentle prodding that included common-sense community seminars on water-saving tips, many Las Vegas lawns have now morphed into environmentally sustainable spaces with desert landscaping. In the long run, many homeowners realized they weren't really using the grass until they pushed a lawn mower across it.
California Governor Jerry Brown ordered that California rip up 50 million square feet of lawns to conserve water amid the devastating drought. California's 411 water districts are now offering rebates now as much as $3.75 per square foot, to persuade homeowners to give up on grass.