In light of the drought, Western cities agree to eradicate ornamental grass.

A coalition of 30 organizations that provide water to residences and businesses across the western United States has vowed to rip up a lot of ornamental grass in order to keep water in the Colorado River, which is already overstretched.

Among those who signed a document on Tuesday outlining broad commitments to reduce water use were water agencies in Southern California, Phoenix, and Salt Lake City. Along with a 30% reduction in ornamental grass, the agencies say they’ll increase water efficiency, increase water recycling, and look into actions like altering how people pay for water to encourage savings.

The memo stated, “Recognizing that a clean, dependable water supply is essential to our communities, we can and must do more to reduce water consumption and increase reuse and recycling within our service areas.

Cities use about one-fifth of the water from the Colorado River, but the agreement did not specify how much water the agencies were collectively committing to save. Agriculture is what’s left over.

Cities, or 20% of the population, cannot figure out the math. John Entsminger, General Manager of the Southern Nevada Water Authority, said, “But we can definitely help with the solution.

The vague commitments may prompt organizations to pay landowners to rip up their grass and replace it with desert landscaping that can withstand drought.

Grass that no one walks on, such as that in front of strip malls, in roadway medians, and at the entrances of subdivisions administered by homeowners associations, is the turf that will be removed. Grass used for recreation in parks, backyards, and golf courses is excluded.

For the first time, water agencies from the entire region have agreed to a numerical benchmark aimed at a particular type of water use. The pledge to remove 30% marks this milestone. It occurs as the states scramble to cut their consumption in order to abide by federal officials’ demands, who claim that reductions are necessary to maintain river levels and safeguard the public’s health, food systems, and hydropower.

An earlier agreement, reached in August by five sizable water districts, now has additional signatories thanks to the letter. Denver, Las Vegas, and Albuquerque water agencies are among those that have signed.

However, Todd Hartman, a spokesman for Denver Water, declined to say how much water would be saved by replacing the estimated 75 million square feet (7 million square meters) of non-functional turf. The agency, according to him, plans to launch its programs by 2024.

No matter how much money is saved, the new commitments will only represent a small fraction of the conservation required to maintain the Colorado River’s water flow and keep its largest reservoirs from dropping below a dangerous level.

According to Cynthia Campbell, the city’s water resources management advisor, Phoenix hopes to have its program up and running by the spring. This will be the first time the city has paid residents to trample grass. Many people have removed grass even in the absence of a program. Today, only 9% of homes have grass on most of their property, but that figure excludes the sprawling suburbs outside of city limits, she said. In the 1970s, about 80% of homes had grass on most of their property.

She emphasized, as have others, that city water savings won’t be enough to address the issues with the river.

No amount of municipal conservation, according to her, “could make up for the water that’s going to be needed to be” conserved in the western United States. However, “we are giving until it hurts, as much as we can.”

The seven states that depend on the river—Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah, and Wyoming—which use about 80% of the allotted water—don’t make any commitments in the letter.

The two major reservoirs on the river, Lake Powell and Lake Mead, are each roughly one-fourth full.

When Camille Touton, commissioner of the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, issued a warning in June that the states needed to drastically reduce their use, nobody heeded her call because of disagreements over who would bear what burden. Since then, the bureau has provided various levels of compensation to water districts that reduce their use by doing things like not planting crops in farm fields or asking city dwellers to use less water at home.

On November 21, proposals for a portion of that funding are due.

With its roots embedded alongside streets, around fountains, and between the walkways in office parks, well-kept grass has long been a symbol of American suburban life. However, some places have already started to move away from it.

Half of California’s residents receive their water from the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California, which in October urged local governments and water providers within its jurisdiction to forbid the planting of any new ornamental grass in business parks and public areas. One of the letter’s signatories was the agency.

Southern Nevada has used a combination of financial incentives and fines for many years to discourage lawn watering and restrict both functional and non-functional turf. The agreement has little impact on the region because a state law passed last year mandates that by 2026, all of the non-functional turf in the Las Vegas area will have been removed.

Last year, Utah passed a statewide conservation program that included $5 million in incentives to encourage turf removal and specifically targeted ornamental grass on public property. Nevertheless, some local governments uphold laws that forbid residents from switching from grass to landscaping that can withstand drought and were passed for aesthetic reasons.