Las Vegas Sun

March 29, 2024

EDITORIAL:

Ornamental grass is a luxury a drought-stricken region can’t afford

After learning that state lawmakers were considering a proposed ban on ornamental turf, some Nevadans may wonder what grass ever did to hurt anybody. In fact, one local news organization recently published a column by an individual touting several environmental benefits of grass and saying ornamental turf wasn’t Southern Nevada’s real problem.

But let’s be clear, decorative grass isn’t good for our region. It consumes a substantial amount of water, and its benefits in many cases can be obtained by other means that either require no water or are far less of a drain on our dwindling resources. As a whole, the benefits of grass simply don’t outweigh the negative impacts of growing the plant for appearance’s sake only in an arid environment where the water supply is under enormous stress.

The proposed ban would ease that stress by barring grass that is grown for decorative or ornamental purposes only — or, as it’s been described by proponents of the measure, grass that is stepped on only when it is mowed. This is grass in street medians, office parks, parking lots and such, not turf in playgrounds, parks, golf courses and families’ backyards.

Let’s pick apart the argument in favor of grass here:

Grass reduces temperatures

So do shade trees, which require far less water to maintain than a large plot of green grass. Water-friendly options that cast significant shade include desert willows, palo verdes and mesquite. As a community, we can work with our own Desert Research Institute to develop the best regulations and practices for landscaping to replace ornamental grass. That’s part of the prestigious institution’s specialty, after all.

Architects and engineers also say urban heat zones can be avoided through building designs, use of canopies, planting of native ground cover, use of light paint colors and even the placings of buildings to provide shade to one another. This is another place where DRI could provide invaluable input.

Grass helps curb climate change

That’s true in and of itself, but there’s a damaging flip side. Grass requires maintenance, which in commercial settings generally involves gasoline-powered lawn equipment that is a significant contributor to the greenhouse gases that are fueling global warming. Consider it this way: While a patch of ornamental turf equal to an average-sized lawn captures 300 pounds of carbon per year, the average commercial leaf blower produces 93 pounds of C02 per year and the average gas-powered motor adds another 80. So much of the carbon being captured by that grass is coming from the equipment needed to maintain it, which for ornamental grass means mostly fuel-powered tools operated by commercial landscapers.

Trees and other plantings require far less maintenance.

Grass reduces noise pollution

It’s true that grass muffles noise, but it’s a detriment in terms of overall pollution. Here are some reasons why:

Lawn-maintenance equipment doesn’t just belch carbon dioxide, it also releases particulates that can reduce air quality and increase health risks for people with respiratory problems.

Grass muffles noise, but maintaining it has a significant impact on noise pollution. A commercial-grade, gas-powered leaf blower produces more than 100 decibels of sound, well above the 85-decibel level at which hearing protection is advised. Try telling someone who is awakened by lawn equipment somewhere near their home or who is trying to participate in a Zoom meeting while landscape crews are at work nearby that grass is great for noise pollution.

Fertilizers and chemicals that are used to maintain grass adversely affect soil quality and ecosystems, and can pose a risk to groundwater.

Grass improves well-being and stress levels

Yes, grass may be pretty and soothing to look at, but so are native-plant gardens and the ecosystems that build up around them — birds, butterflies, ground squirrels, etc. And those gardens consume drastically less water than it takes to keep grass green in place that underwent a 61-day streak of triple-digit temperatures and a record 240-day span without measurable rainfall last year.

Plus, as far as the human impact goes, here’s the baseline question: What’s more stressful, being without decorative grass or being without water? Let’s make no mistake, the Southwest’s water supply is in dire shape. Snowfall in the Rockies was below normal this year, and forecasters say the scope of the drought is the worst in 20 years, with nearly 80% of the Western U.S. suffering drought conditions. In nearly 42% of the region, including Southern Nevada, the drought level is ranked in the most intense two categories — extreme or exceptional.

This bodes badly for water runoff into Lake Mead, which provides the bulk of the Las Vegas Valley’s drinking water. This year, the surface level of the lake is expected to fall below a mark where mandatory cuts go into effect for the states that take water from the lake. Las Vegas is fortunate, because the conservation measures we’ve taken over the years have reduced our water usage to about 250,000 acre-feet per year, which is well under our allotment of 300,000 acre-feet and will still be below the 287,000 acre-feet we’ll get if the cuts go into effect.

But it doesn’t appear our water situation is going to improve anytime soon. We must keep conserving, or we face a time when doing things like growing decorative grass won’t even be an option.

The ornamental grass ban is a terrific way to do it. Officials say removing all of the approximately 3,900 acres of such turf in the Las Vegas Valley will decrease our water usage by 9.5 billion gallons per year, or about 29,000 acre-feet. Less grass also will mean less maintenance and fewer carbon emissions — an estimated 23,000 tons per year.

A nicely trimmed patch of grass may have the feel of an oasis about it, but when it’s used for nothing but looks, it’s more of an eyesore in terms of water conservation and the environment. For the long-term ability of the desert to support our community, we need to get rid of it.