New bill would incentivize Colorado homeowners to give up their lawns

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) -- A new bill introduced in the Colorado State House would create a fund to pay residents statewide to tear up their lawns and replace it with more drought-friendly alternatives.

House Bill 22-1151 is described as a way to "incentivize water-wise landscapes" by "creating a state program to finance the voluntary replacement of irrigated turf.

The bill also said it would reduce the sale of agricultural water rights in response to increased demand for municipal water use.

If passed, people across the state would receive a dollar for every square foot of non-natives grass they get rid of.

For Colorado Springs homeowners, roughly 40% of water usage goes towards keeping lawns green. Separate from the statewide measure, the City of Colorado Springs is discussing new zoning could which would limit how much grass can be irrigated with sprinklers.

If the local zoning limit passes, existing laws would be grandfathered in and new homes would only allow just 25% of the lawn to have irrigated sprinklers.