This Utah county is paying residents to make their landscaping water-efficient

ST. GEORGE — Washington County residents can soon get paid to save water and beautify their yards at the same time through a new water conservation program in the county.

The Washington County Water Conservancy District announced last week that it will pay property owners up to $3 for each square foot of grass replaced with water-efficient landscaping in the first 1,000 square feet of a project area. This week, the district included an additional $100 "treebate" incentive for each qualifying tree planted.

"Everybody knows the state of Utah is in pretty extreme drought conditions, but we're in a situation where we don't need to impose restrictive measures," said water district conservation manager Doug Bennett. "But we wanted to extend a little bit of additional help to our community so that they can help us manage the drought."

The money awarded is subject to a conservation easement grant, with a maximum payment is $100,000 per property, per calendar year. Those interested can apply online, where there is also a set of guidelines including a list of 40 approved plants and trees.

"Honestly, you don't even have to pick from the plants that we've approved," Bennett told KSL. "If somebody wanted to put in a rose garden, that will use less water than an irrigated lawn. Sometimes people want fruit trees in their landscape. There's some great desert pomegranate or apricot. Just getting away from grass and sprinkler irrigation is typically going to save a lot of water."

The program requires at least 50% living plants in the approved area, along with a drip irrigation system and mulch to keep the water in the ground so it doesn't evaporate.

Bennet said that while the effects of the project will be long-term, the program itself will be short-lived. The incentive for residents to start now, he said, will hopefully boost the local landscape industry.

"We are encouraging people to get it done quickly," he said. "That funding is only available for projects that are completed before June 1 of next year.

"A lot of people won't landscape during the summer," he added. "But many of these plants are already living in a black bucket at the nursery; they can certainly move into your outdoor landscape and still be able to thrive. The local businesses that serve the landscape industry would be happy to have the work at this time of year. It's another good way to move these dollars around within your local city economy."

Bennet said that along with the online application, the Washington County Water Conservancy District offers over 40 free classes each year to help people better understand how they can make these kinds of changes on their own.

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