Drought-stricken Nevada enacts ban on 'non-functional' grass

CARSON CITY, Nev. (AP) — In Sin City, one thing that will soon become unforgivable is useless grass.

A new Nevada law will outlaw about 31% of the grass in the Las Vegas area in an effort to conserve water amid a drought that's drying up the region's primary water source: the Colorado River.

Other cities and states around the U.S. have enacted temporary bans on lawns that must be watered, but legislation signed Friday by Gov. Steve Sisolak makes Nevada the first in the nation to enact a permanent ban on certain categories of grass.

Sisolak said last week that anyone flying into Las Vegas viewing the “bathtub rings” that delineate how high Lake Mead's water levels used to be can see that conservation is needed.

“It’s incumbent upon us for the next generation to be more conscious of conservation and our natural resources — water being particularly important,” he said.

The ban targets what the Southern Nevada Water Authority calls “non-functional turf." It applies to grass that virtually no one uses at office parks, in street medians and at entrances to housing developments. It excludes single-family homes, parks and golf courses.

Nevada Assemblyman Howard Watts III, the bill's sponsor, said he hopes other western states consider similar action leading up to 2026, when they renegotiate the Colorado River's Drought Contingency Plan. He applauded Sisolak for taking concrete action on conservation after Utah Gov. Spencer Cox asked people to pray for rain last week.

“There's broad acceptance in southern Nevada that if we can take some grass out to preserve the water supply for our communities, then that’s something that we need to do,” he said. “This sends a clear message about what other states need to be looking at in order to preserve water.”

The measure will require the...