St. George grass replacement effort removes nearly 3 million square feet

ST. GEORGE — Since 2023, the St. George metropolitan area has replaced nearly 3 million square feet of grass with water-efficient landscaping through the Washington County Water Conservancy District’s Water Efficient Landscape Program.

“To put that into perspective, over the last few years our residents have replaced more lawn on a per capita basis than the national leader in grass replacement — Las Vegas,” said Doug Bennett, the district’s conservation manager. Bennett oversaw Las Vegas’ grass replacement program for more than two decades before joining the district.

Lawns use about four times more water than trees and shrubs, and a 2023 analysis found as much as 40% of the region’s turf was purely decorative, consuming nearly three billion gallons of water annually. The voluntary progr