As of November, the weather in Las Vegas got dramatically colder. We were seeing temperatures in the high eighties during the day and lows in the sixties at night in October, but as soon as November rolled in we started seeing temperatures more than twenty degrees lower than that. With these colder temperatures comes the need to reset your landscaping water schedule for any plants that you have been using automatic sprinklers for, and potentially rethinking the decision to have grass. Those people who have plants involved in their landscaping in Las Vegas nearly always have to rely upon automatic watering from a sprinkler system in order to keep them alive, and the grass is no exception. It has been well documented that grass is one of the biggest consumers of water in the valley, using more than 55 gallons of water per square foot every year just to stay green. During drought times, we need to rethink these decisions in order to not only conserve, but to save money. Grass has almost no benefit to our community except for decorative landscaping, and because of this reality we really do need to rethink it’s use. You can get just as comfortable an environment in your home with artificial turf or with pavers, and neither one of these things uses even a drop of water.
Most people will rethink their landscaping during the seasonal change between summer and winter, probably due to the fact that we need to redo the watering schedules anyway. When we start thinking about the fact that our grass uses a ton of water that is better suited for living people and animals, it suddenly makes sense that we are living in a desert and these types of plants are completely out of place here. Desert landscaping has become more popular as a way to beautify your landscape and fit into the look and feel of the desert, as is xeriscaping which is a technique that uses no water whatsoever. For those who simply cannot bear the thought of living without the green grass around their house, artificial turf has been developed that looks and feels so natural that the only way to identify it is to see that it might look “too perfect to be real.” If looking too good is the only downside, then how can you go wrong.
The SNWA provides a rebate system that will credit home owners 3 dollars per square foot for grass and plants that they remove from their landscape and replace with a ground covering that does not use water. Artificial turf fits into these guidelines, and the credit you will receive will help to offset the installation costs. This can help to pay for the installation right now, and the savings on watering will pay for the entire thing within a few years. It really is one of the best decisions you can make as a Las Vegas home owner, improving your property value, getting a discount to do it, and helping your community to conserve all at the same time.