The Southern Nevada Water Authority (SNWA) recently approved changes to the Water Smart Landscapes rebate program that will decrease cash incentives for non-functional grass conversion projects on non-single-family properties.
Starting Jan. 1, 2025, the rebate for such projects will be reduced to $2 per square foot for the first 10,000 square feet of non-functional grass converted to drip-irrigated trees and plants, and $1 per square foot thereafter.
Businesses, HOAs and multifamily properties can still take advantage of the current rebate of $3 per square foot for the first 10,000 square feet of converted turf and $1.50 per square foot thereafter for projects completed by the end of 2024.
These changes come as a state-mandated deadline to remove non-functional grass in the driest city in the nation draws nearer. The Nevada Legislature in 2021 passed a law that prohibits the use of Colorado River water to irrigate non-functional, decorative turf — the decorative grass found along roadways and medians, in front of and around businesses and some of the grass managed by homeowner associations starting Jan. 1, 2027.
For Southern Nevada, grass irrigation remains the largest consumptive use of water from the Colorado River, which provides 90 percent of our water supplies. Despite last year’s great winter, the river remains in a federally declared shortage condition that reduces the Nevada’s maximum allocation for the third consecutive year.
Businesses, HOAs and other non-single-family properties across the valley have already taken a major step towards compliance with the law, having converted more than 10 million square feet of turf to drought-friendly landscaping in just the last two years alone.
Once fully implemented, the conservation law will help Southern Nevada save 9.5 billion gallons of water annually. Additional information about both Nevada law and the SNWA’s Water Smart Landscapes rebate program is available at snwa.com.
The SNWA’s Water Smart Landscapes Rebate will be reduced to $2 per square foot for first 10,000 square feet of converted turf starting Jan. 1, 2025. Businesses, HOAs and multifamily properties can still take advantage of the full $3 per square foot cash incentive for projects completed by the Dec. 31, 2024.
State law prohibits the use of Colorado River water to irrigate decorative, non-functional turf – the grass found along roadways and medians, in front of businesses and in some HOA areas –in Southern Nevada starting Jan. 1, 2027.
