There’s good news for proponents of more eco-friendly lawns after Utah legalized a drought-resistant grass species that delivers the look and feel of a lawn, without some of the environmental and financial downsides.
Americans use more than 7 billion gallons of water a day on their lawns. Over half of that doesn’t even help lawns. People overwater, which is bad for the grass. Some water just evaporates or runs into sewers, carrying pesticides with it. That’s a pretty heavy environmental cost.
However, hybrid Bermuda grass can last up to six weeks without water in the summer heat, according to research from Brigham Young University. In a comparison study, Kentucky bluegrass, the most common lawn grass in the state, began struggling after only one week of no watering.
“Bottom line: Using this type of grass in a lawn could reduce watering to only two to three times a season,” BYU professor Bryan Hopkins, who has been researching the grass for nearly two decades, said in a statement.
Until last month, the resilient species was banned in Utah mostly due to its relation to the common Bermuda grass, an invasive weed. But the hybrid version does not act like its relative. “I may seem nerdy in saying this, but the delisting of hybrid Bermuda grass as a noxious weed in Utah nearly brings tears to my eyes,” said Hopkins. “This will have such an important impact on future water conservation.”