Bill to ban high-maintenance grasses on state and commercial properties aims to conserve water
COLORADO, USA. (KRDO) - A new bill aimed at conserving water through the simple act of watering grass, is making its way through the state capitol.
The bill, the "Prohibit Landscaping Practices for Water Conservation", would ban the usage of any grass or plants that are not native to Colorado on all city, county, or state lands, as well as any new commercial or industrial properties.
The main culprit when it comes to high-maintenance grasses in any landscaping project is Kentucky Blue Grass, which looks great and is durable, however it requires a lot of water to maintain.
"So we're considered a high desert climate, about 16 inches of annual precipitation. [Blue Grass] requires another 24 inches on top of that." explains Colorado Springs Parks and Recreation Manager, Eric Decker.
Senator Dylan Robert, a democrat representing District 8 in Colorado, is a main sponsor of the bill. He says that it's intent to cut back on wasted water usage, in areas that simply don't need it.
Roberts describes those areas as large grass lawns outside of government buildings or properties, the medians between highways or along any transportation corridors, as well as any parks or other municipally owned lands.
"Half of the water that we are using at a municipal level is being used to water, grass and turf that nobody ever uses." said the Senator.
In moving away from Kentucky Blue Grass and other high-maintenance grasses, the bill requires that soil to be substituted by native Colorado grasses, which thrive in the dry climate, and subsequently don't need as much water.
It's a process the City of Colorado Springs has already been doing for years, says Becker.
"We've done about 100 acres or so, probably 30 plus projects all around the city, and save the department about 50% of the [previous] water [usage] at those sites." explained Becker.
Roberts says a law passed in 2022, which offered 2 million dollars in rebates to Colorado land owners to make the switch to native grasses was very successful.
"Just the dollars that the state spent in one year, we saved 18.8 million gallons of water in Colorado." noted Roberts.
It's in that spirit of conservation, Robert's says, that he hopes this bill can build off of.
"That's water that can be saved for our agriculture producers, that can be kept in rivers during hot and dry summers, and help keep Colorado the beautiful place that we all love." said the Senator.
The bill will be voted on in the senate on Wednesday, January 31, where if it passes it then goes to the House of Representatives.
Roberts said the bill has garnered bipartisan support, and hopes it can make it to the Governors' desk in a few weeks.
