Terms like xeriscaping and artificial turf are often associated with lawns in the desert southwest, but with ongoing drought, even Colorado homeowners are being encouraged to trade their water-intensive green lawns with water-wise landscaping.

The Colorado General Assembly has introduced HB22-1151, titled “Turf Replacement Program.” The proposed legislation would give homeowners financial incentives to replace their lawns with water-wise landscaping, which emphasizes the use of plants with lower water needs. The Colorado Water Conservation Board will develop a statewide program. Local governments, some districts, Native American tribes, and nonprofit organizations with their own turf replacement programs may apply to the Board for money to help finance their turf replacement programs. Under the proposal, which currently envisions a $2 million allocation, the Board will contract with one or more third parties to administer one or more turf replacement programs in areas where local turf replacement programs do not exist.

With the climate becoming drier, Colorado Springs’ station KRDO says that every bit of water saved by homeowners will make a big difference, adding that about one in four Coloradans live in a community with a turf incentive program.