Lawmakers in US Want to Pay People to Remove Grass
2022-03-16
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1Lawmakers in the American state of Colorado are looking for easy and effective ways to save water.
2"There's not any more water out there and what water is out there is becoming really expensive. So, let's look at how we're using it now," said John Berggren.
3He is a water policy expert with Western Resource Advocates, a non-profit group.
4Berggren's organization supports an effort by Colorado's lawmakers to launch a statewide turf replacement program.
5Turf is land covered with grass.
6The program aims to pay home and business owners to replace their grass with other plants and landscapes for the state's dry climate.
7The legislation would be a way to deal with demand for the state's water, said Colorado state representative Marc Catlin.
8He spoke at a committee meeting in February.
9Catlin added that the replacement would be completely voluntary.
10Supporters say similar programs across the west have saved billions of liters of water.
11Property owners have been paid from a few cents to a few dollars for every square meter of turf they replace.
12About 19 Colorado cities, water services and water districts already have turf replacement programs.
13The legislation would offer the same amount of money for those programs.
14The bill would also help local governments launch programs of their own.
15People who live in areas without such a program could make a request directly to the state for money.
16Zane Marshall is director of resources and buildings for the Southern Nevada Water Authority.
17He said that some grassy places, like parks and sports fields, are functional. That means they serve a purpose.
18Turf replacement programs, like the one in the Las Vegas Valley, center on lawns meant to look nice.
19Marshall said that in Las Vegas one tenth of a square meter of grass can use 276 liters of water every year.
20Replacing that grass with native plants and landscaping can cut that to 82 liters or less.
21The Las Vegas Valley has always been dry.
22The desert area averages 10.7 centimeters of rainfall a year.
23The people who live there take 90 percent of their water from the Colorado River.
24The rest comes from an underground water source in the area.
25Water officials launched the area's Water Smart Landscapes Rebate program in 1999, Marshall said.
26The program offered residents $4 for every square meter of lawn that they replaced.
27Valley residents, apartment managers and business owners took the government's money and replaced their grasses with rocks, Nevada agave and desert marigolds.
28Water officials increased the offer to $10 for each square meter in 2003, then $20 in 2007.
29Now water officials offer $30 for each square meter up to 929 square meters, Marshall said.
30Property owners in the Las Vegas Valley have removed more than 18.5 million square meters of turf, Marshall said.
31That has saved about 741 billion liters of water since the program started, he added.
32In Colorado, the city of Greeley's turf replacement program, called Life after Lawn, is younger but still successful, said Water Conservation Manager Dena Egenhoff.
33Since launching in 2018, the program has helped property owners save an estimated 145 million liters of water.
34"They lower their water bills, and they can still have a beautiful landscape no matter what climate conditions are now or in the future," she said.
35The turf replacement program in Castle Rock has also saved millions of liters.
36The city has reduced residential water use by 7 percent since starting its replacement program in 2009, said water efficiency supervisor Rick Schultz.
37Non-residential properties became able to get government money in 2019. Since then, water use has been reduced by about 29 percent, Schultz said.
38Representatives of the Colorado Water Conservation Board, the Colorado Cattlemen's Association and the Colorado River District support the state bill.
39If the measure becomes law, the Colorado Water Conservation Board would have to develop a statewide turf replacement program by July 2023.
40I'm Jonathan Evans.
1Lawmakers in the American state of Colorado are looking for easy and effective ways to save water. 2"There's not any more water out there and what water is out there is becoming really expensive. So, let's look at how we're using it now," said John Berggren. He is a water policy expert with Western Resource Advocates, a non-profit group. 3Berggren's organization supports an effort by Colorado's lawmakers to launch a statewide turf replacement program. Turf is land covered with grass. The program aims to pay home and business owners to replace their grass with other plants and landscapes for the state's dry climate. 4The legislation would be a way to deal with demand for the state's water, said Colorado state representative Marc Catlin. He spoke at a committee meeting in February. Catlin added that the replacement would be completely voluntary. 5Supporters say similar programs across the west have saved billions of liters of water. Property owners have been paid from a few cents to a few dollars for every square meter of turf they replace. 6About 19 Colorado cities, water services and water districts already have turf replacement programs. The legislation would offer the same amount of money for those programs. 7The bill would also help local governments launch programs of their own. People who live in areas without such a program could make a request directly to the state for money. 8Zane Marshall is director of resources and buildings for the Southern Nevada Water Authority. He said that some grassy places, like parks and sports fields, are functional. That means they serve a purpose. 9Turf replacement programs, like the one in the Las Vegas Valley, center on lawns meant to look nice. 10Marshall said that in Las Vegas one tenth of a square meter of grass can use 276 liters of water every year. Replacing that grass with native plants and landscaping can cut that to 82 liters or less. 11The Las Vegas Valley has always been dry. The desert area averages 10.7 centimeters of rainfall a year. The people who live there take 90 percent of their water from the Colorado River. The rest comes from an underground water source in the area. 12Water officials launched the area's Water Smart Landscapes Rebate program in 1999, Marshall said. The program offered residents $4 for every square meter of lawn that they replaced. 13Valley residents, apartment managers and business owners took the government's money and replaced their grasses with rocks, Nevada agave and desert marigolds. Water officials increased the offer to $10 for each square meter in 2003, then $20 in 2007. Now water officials offer $30 for each square meter up to 929 square meters, Marshall said. 14Property owners in the Las Vegas Valley have removed more than 18.5 million square meters of turf, Marshall said. That has saved about 741 billion liters of water since the program started, he added. 15In Colorado, the city of Greeley's turf replacement program, called Life after Lawn, is younger but still successful, said Water Conservation Manager Dena Egenhoff. Since launching in 2018, the program has helped property owners save an estimated 145 million liters of water. 16"They lower their water bills, and they can still have a beautiful landscape no matter what climate conditions are now or in the future," she said. 17The turf replacement program in Castle Rock has also saved millions of liters. The city has reduced residential water use by 7 percent since starting its replacement program in 2009, said water efficiency supervisor Rick Schultz. Non-residential properties became able to get government money in 2019. Since then, water use has been reduced by about 29 percent, Schultz said. 18Representatives of the Colorado Water Conservation Board, the Colorado Cattlemen's Association and the Colorado River District support the state bill. 19If the measure becomes law, the Colorado Water Conservation Board would have to develop a statewide turf replacement program by July 2023. 20I'm Jonathan Evans. 21Conrad Swanson reported on this story for the Associated Press. Jonathan Evans adapted this story for Learning English. 22____________________________________________________________________ 23Words in This Story 24expensive -adj. costing a lot of money 25landscape -n. an area of land that has a particular quality or appearance; an area of land around a house that has been designed to look appealing 26resident -n. a person who lives in a particular place