Face it, no matter how much you want your Las Vegas home to look like an oasis, it is still located in the desert. Las Vegas is one of the harshest climates in the world, and is actually comparable to Afghanistan as far as heat and dryness. We live in an area where plants have had to adapt to water shortages and extreme heat in the summer time, and the only reason that we are able to have more green plants in our landscapes is because of the invention of automatic sprinklers and drip irrigation. When Lake Mead was created it provided a source of water for the Las Vegas valley, and made living here more bearable, but as the community has grown to numbers that have never been seen before we sometimes run into issues that did not exist before. One such issue is the problem with drought, and even though Lake Mead has millions of gallons of water, that is not enough to assure that there will be enough for everyone if the levels go down. Unfortunately, we have had several consecutive years where these levels have dropped to dangerous points, and we face a potential water emergency.
When drought conditions happen, the county automatically imposes watering restrictions in a conservation effort. There are radio and television ads that will remind you not to waste water, and you will be restricted to only watering your lawn at certain times and on certain days. The community effort to save water in order to protect our citizens is working, but we are far from out of the woods. One of the best things that can be done is for our residents to realize that we actually do not live in an oasis, and to replace their landscaping elements with something more in line with the climate we live in. We are talking about desert landscaping, or if you must see green outside your door then artificial turf.
The county will provide large rebates for people who remove their existing grass and replace it with a more water smart ground covering. Desert landscaping qualifies for these rebates, as does artificial turf as long as the correct procedures are followed and it is professionally installed. Grass is one of the biggest wastes of water in the desert, and because it is realized by the city and county offices the decision has been made to encourage conservation through a rethinking of our landscaping choices. Each square foot of grass that is removed and replaced with water smart ground coverings will save the county upwards of 55 gallons of water per year, and these savings when seen across the entire population can add up to significant amounts. For this reason, it is in the best interest of Las Vegas to pay residents up to 2 dollars per square foot of grass they replace.
Are you going to participate in the water conservation effort, and help to save the community we live in? If you are interested in learning more about artificial turf or desert landscaping choices, contact us today for a free consultation.