If you are a resident of Las Vegas, or have ever been here before you realize that it almost never rains here. Yes, there are times of year when we get more rain than others, and there are years when we get more rain than the previous, but essentially the desert climate is one of hot temperatures, sunshine and very few rainy days. When they invented air conditioning, it made the desert suddenly more bearable to live in because now during the hottest times you can simply go indoors. Another significant development was sprinklers, and the ready availability of water once the Hoover Dam was constructed. These two inventions and projects brought a new way of life to the desert, and changed the landscape quite literally for people who both lived here and were thinking about moving here. It seemed as though man could triumph over nature, and we had the ability to create our own world exactly as we wanted it to be through technology. Even though the desert cannot grow grass on it’s own because there is simply not enough water here, we had the ability to do it anyway and create a lawn and yard area that was far more like a temperate region than the desert. The problem starts when there is not necessarily enough water to go around.
Las Vegas has been in a drought for multiple years now, and the water levels of Hoover Dam are dropping. This means that the water that is necessary to keep our citizens alive is becoming more scarce, and as a result must be restricted to only necessary amounts of use. This means that even if you can afford it, you cannot legally waste water. One of the ways that are considered wasteful in Las Vegas is the maintaining of a landscape that is completely foreign to the natural environment. One square foot of grass needs nearly 55 gallons of water each and every year just to stay alive in the Las Vegas heat, and even more than that in years that are hotter than expected. Because our water levels are dropping and you are not allowed to waste the water, many people are seeing the money that they invested in grass going out the window as it turns brown and dies in the sun. For this reason among others, many residents of Las Vegas are opting for better options in the form of fake plants and grass.
Fake grass in Las Vegas is now very common, mainly installed by people who do not want their investments to be lost under watering restrictions. These people still want the look and feel of grass and prefer it over crushed rock or concrete, but do not want to work to keep it alive. Fake grass is a perfect alternative in that it is not effected by the heat and needs no water to stay alive, being a plastic product. This gives Las Vegans the ability to have that lush and green lawn without the work or the care, and without the water that we just don’t have any to spare.