Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility

A First Look at Fresno State’s Quarterback Battle

17 hours ago

Israeli Columnist Alleges Ethnic Cleansing Plan in Gaza

17 hours ago

Tesla to Roll out Bay Area Robotaxis With Safety Drivers, Report Says

18 hours ago

Thailand and Cambodia Exchange Heavy Artillery Fire as Border Battle Expands

19 hours ago

California Cannot Require Background Checks to Buy Ammunition, US Appeals Court Rules

2 days ago

TikTok Will Go Dark in US Without Chinese Approval of Sale Deal, Lutnick Says

2 days ago

Fresno County Authorities Still Searching for Missing Mother and Infant

2 days ago
Drought-Stricken Nevada Outlaws 'Non-Functional' Grass
gvw_ap_news
By Associated Press
Published 4 years ago on
June 7, 2021

Share

CARSON CITY, Nev. — In Sin City, one thing that will soon become unforgivable is useless grass.

A new Nevada law outlaws about 31% of the grass in the Las Vegas area in an effort to conserve water amid a drought that’s drying up the region’s primary water source: the Colorado River.

Other cities and states around the U.S. have enacted temporary bans on lawns that must be watered. However, legislation signed Friday by Gov. Steve Sisolak makes Nevada the first in the nation to enact a permanent ban on certain categories of grass.

Sisolak said last week that anyone flying into Las Vegas viewing the “bathtub rings” that delineate how high Lake Mead’s water levels used to be can see that conservation is needed.

“It’s incumbent upon us for the next generation to be more conscious of conservation and our natural resources — water being particularly important,” he said.

Ban Excludes Homes, Parks, Golf Courses

The ban targets what the Southern Nevada Water Authority calls “non-functional turf.” It applies to grass that virtually no one uses at office parks, in street medians and at entrances to housing developments. It excludes single-family homes, parks and golf courses.

The measure will require the replacement of about 6 square miles of grass in the metro Las Vegas area. By ripping it out, water officials estimate the region can conserve 10% of its total available Colorado River water supply and save about 11 gallons per person per day in a region with a population of about 2.3 million.

“Replacing non-functional turf from Southern Nevada will allow for more sustainable and efficient use of resources, build resiliency to climate change, and help ensure the community’s current and future water needs continue to be met,” said Southern Nevada Water Authority General Manager John Entsminger.

Bipartisan Support for the Law

The ban was passed by state lawmakers with bipartisan support and backing from groups like Great Basin Water Network conservation group and the Southern Nevada Homebuilders’ Association, which wants to free up water to allow for projected growth and future construction.

When the ban takes effect in 2027, it will apply only to Southern Nevada Water Authority jurisdiction, which encompasses Las Vegas and its surrounding areas and relies on the Colorado River for 90% of its water supply.

As the region has grown, the agency has prohibited developers from planting grass front lawns in new subdivisions and has spent years offering some of the region’s most generous rebates to owners of older properties — up to $3 per square foot — to tear out grass and replace it with drought-tolerant landscaping.

Water officials have said waning demand for those rebates has made bolder measures necessary. The legislation also mandates the formation of an advisory committee to carve out exceptions to the ban.

Other cities and states have enacted temporary grass bans during short-term droughts, but Nevada is the first place in the country to put in place a regional ban on certain uses of grass.

Seven States Rely on Colorado River

The ban came as the seven states that rely on the over-tapped Colorado River for water — Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming — reckon with the prospect of a drier future.

Lake Mead and Lake Powell, the two reservoirs where Colorado River water is stored, are projected to shrink this year to levels that would trigger the region’s first-ever official shortage declaration and cut the amount allocated to Nevada and Arizona.

Water officials in both states have said that even with the cuts, they’ll still have enough water to accommodate projected population growth, but are working to limit certain kinds of consumption.

In Arizona, farmers in Pinal County south of Phoenix have had to stop irrigating their fields because of the cuts. Nevada stands to lose about 4% of its allocation, although the state has historically not used its entire share.

RELATED TOPICS:

DON'T MISS

What Are Fresno Real Estate Experts Predicting for 2025 and Beyond?

DON'T MISS

First California EV Mandates Hit Automakers This Year. Most Are Not Even Close

DON'T MISS

Tulare Officer Injured in Crash While Trying to Save Unresponsive Infant. Child Dies at Hospital

DON'T MISS

PBS Has a Future by Leaving the Past Behind: Opinion

DON'T MISS

Fresno Council Candidate Rassamni Says City Is Investigating Him Amid Allegations by Arias

DON'T MISS

Fresno First Responders Talk Person Down off Parking Garage Ledge

DON'T MISS

Oregon Schools Face Federal Probe Over Transgender Athletes

DON'T MISS

US Judge Reaffirms Nationwide Injunction Blocking Trump Executive Order on Birthright Citizenship

DON'T MISS

White House Will Release $5.5 Billion for Schools, After Surprise Delay

DON'T MISS

Kern County Fire Issues Evacuation Warnings for Pearl Fire Near Lake Isabella

DON'T MISS

Gaza Running out of Specialized Food to Save Malnourished Children

DON'T MISS

New Madera Bypass Project Aims to Ease Traffic on Highway 41 Near Tesoro Viejo

UP NEXT

White House Will Release $5.5 Billion for Schools, After Surprise Delay

UP NEXT

US States to Get $608 Million From FEMA to Build Migrant Detention Centers

UP NEXT

Trump: Strong Dollar Sounds Good but ‘You Make a Hell of a Lot More’ With a Weaker One

UP NEXT

Trump Says US May Not Have a Negotiated Trade Deal With Canada

UP NEXT

Trump Says There Is a 50-50 Chance of Trade Deal With EU

UP NEXT

Amid Epstein Furor, Ghislaine Maxwell Seeks Relief From US Supreme Court

UP NEXT

US Justice Department Official Meets Epstein Associate Maxwell

UP NEXT

Lara Trump Skips North Carolina US Senate Race, Clears Way for Cooper Versus Whatley

UP NEXT

Michael Whatley, RNC Chair, to Run for Senate in North Carolina

UP NEXT

Video-Sharing App Vine Is Returning ‘in AI Form’, Musk Says

Fresno First Responders Talk Person Down off Parking Garage Ledge

12 hours ago

Oregon Schools Face Federal Probe Over Transgender Athletes

13 hours ago

US Judge Reaffirms Nationwide Injunction Blocking Trump Executive Order on Birthright Citizenship

14 hours ago

White House Will Release $5.5 Billion for Schools, After Surprise Delay

14 hours ago

Kern County Fire Issues Evacuation Warnings for Pearl Fire Near Lake Isabella

15 hours ago

Gaza Running out of Specialized Food to Save Malnourished Children

15 hours ago

New Madera Bypass Project Aims to Ease Traffic on Highway 41 Near Tesoro Viejo

16 hours ago

Key Player in California’s Water Wars Embraces Controversial Newsom Plan

16 hours ago

A First Look at Fresno State’s Quarterback Battle

17 hours ago

Israeli Columnist Alleges Ethnic Cleansing Plan in Gaza

17 hours ago

Tulare Officer Injured in Crash While Trying to Save Unresponsive Infant. Child Dies at Hospital

A Tulare police officer was injured in a traffic collision Friday while responding to a medical emergency involving an unresponsive infant, ...

11 hours ago

11 hours ago

Tulare Officer Injured in Crash While Trying to Save Unresponsive Infant. Child Dies at Hospital

Signs supporting NPR outside its headquarters in Washington on March 26, 2025. The Trump administration has accused NPR and PBS of using public funds to produce biased coverage and “left-wing propaganda.” (Eric Lee/The New York Times)
12 hours ago

PBS Has a Future by Leaving the Past Behind: Opinion

AJ Rassamni and Miguel Arias blackstone
12 hours ago

Fresno Council Candidate Rassamni Says City Is Investigating Him Amid Allegations by Arias

Fresno first responders spent over two hours safely rescuing a person in crisis from the edge of a downtown parking garage Friday, July 25, 2025,morning. (Fresno FD)
12 hours ago

Fresno First Responders Talk Person Down off Parking Garage Ledge

United States Department of Education logo and U.S. flag are seen in this illustration taken April 23, 2025. (Reuters File)
13 hours ago

Oregon Schools Face Federal Probe Over Transgender Athletes

President Donald Trump speaks to the media, after the U.S. Supreme Court dealt a blow to the power of federal judges by restricting their ability to grant broad legal relief in cases as the justices acted in a legal fight over President Donald Trump's bid to limit birthright citizenship, in the Press Briefing Room at the White House in Washington D.C., June 27, 2025. (Reuters File)
14 hours ago

US Judge Reaffirms Nationwide Injunction Blocking Trump Executive Order on Birthright Citizenship

Students head to the buses at the end of the day at a high school in Cedar Hill, Mo., on Sept. 14, 2022. The White House will release $5.5 billion in frozen education funds, administration officials announced on Friday, July 25, bringing an end to a chaotic saga of the administration’s making, which had sent school districts scrambling with weeks to go before the school year. (Whitney Curtis/The New York Times)
14 hours ago

White House Will Release $5.5 Billion for Schools, After Surprise Delay

Kern County fire officials have issued evacuation warnings for two zones near Lake Isabella as the Pearl Fire threatens the area. (Kern County FD)
15 hours ago

Kern County Fire Issues Evacuation Warnings for Pearl Fire Near Lake Isabella

Help continue the work that gets you the news that matters most.

Search

Send this to a friend