{"id":658623,"date":"2026-05-22T14:45:08","date_gmt":"2026-05-22T14:45:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/658623\/"},"modified":"2026-05-22T14:45:08","modified_gmt":"2026-05-22T14:45:08","slug":"tips-for-water-wise-landscapes-during-utahs-drought","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/658623\/","title":{"rendered":"Tips for water-wise landscapes during Utah’s drought"},"content":{"rendered":"

Note to readers \u2022This story is made possible through a partnership between The Salt Lake Tribune and Grist<\/a>, a nonprofit environmental media organization.<\/p>\n

This story is also an excerpt from the Open Lands newsletter, delivered to inboxes every week. For a sneak peek from the environment team about what we\u2019re working on and news we\u2019re following, sign up to have Open Lands delivered to your inbox<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Utah water managers have urged residents to delay turning on sprinklers and drip systems this spring as the state heads into another hot, dry summer that is expected to bring worsening conditions along the Great Salt Lake and Colorado River. <\/p>\n

As irrigation season ramps up, though, experts say water-wise landscaping can reduce water use without sacrificing trees, pollinator habitat or curb appeal.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe hear all the time, \u2018I\u2019m gonna zero-scape,\u2019\u201d said Katie Wagner, a horticulture expert with the Utah State University Extension. \u201cIt\u2019s not \u2018zero\u2019 scape, xeriscape \u2026 dry landscaping, which goes beyond just putting down rock.\u201d<\/p>\n

Here are tips for reducing how much water you use at home. While some apply specifically to homeowners associations, or HOAs, experts say there are options for anyone rethinking their yard during the drought.<\/p>\n

Water-wise rules for residents in HOAs<\/p>\n

(Brooke Larsen | The Salt Lake Tribune) Prickly pear cacti and ephedra grow near a small patch of lawn in Trase Taggart’s backyard in St. George on Thursday, April 9, 2026.<\/p>\n

In my time covering water issues in the state over the last decade-plus, I remember cases of dust-ups<\/a> and spats<\/a> nearly every dry summer where a homeowner would attempt to rip out turf and get blocked by an HOA. Those days are gone, thanks to water wise landscaping provisions added in recent years to state code governing HOAs.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere are thousands of HOAs in Utah, a lot of them run by volunteers,\u201d said Trever Midgley of HOA Solutions, a management company. \u201cThey don\u2019t always stay up-to-date on the laws and what\u2019s required of them.\u201d<\/p>\n

Under state law, HOAs now cannot ban xeric landscaping, require turf in areas eight feet wide or less, or demand sustained high water use during drought.<\/p>\n

Regardless of what an HOA\u2019s governing documents say, nothing allows an association to tell a homeowner what they can do with their backyard, even if it\u2019s viewable from a street or sidewalk, Midgley said.<\/p>\n

What an HOA can do is adopt bylaws that designate a water-wise landscape\u2019s appearance. They can require certain plantings and prohibit members from turning park strips into a pile of bare gravel, and they can ban things like artificial turf.<\/p>\n

The state required community associations to develop water-wise landscaping regulations in 2024<\/a> that any resident in an HOA can access and follow. <\/p>\n

\u201cWhat we find, even with our own clients,\u201d Midgley said, \u201cis that a lot of communities never adopted the rules, never undertook that effort of what we\u2019re going to allow, what we\u2019re not going to allow.\u201d<\/p>\n

Getting those rules on the books can often be a resident-driven effort, Midgley added, empowering property owners to set standards for their neighborhood. Condo and townhome owners within HOAs who don\u2019t have their own yards and lawns can champion more drought-friendly modifications for communal spaces as well, like installing smart controllers and ensuring sprinklers don\u2019t run during rainstorms. <\/p>\n

\u201cGo to the board, volunteer, initiate change,\u201d Mildly said, \u201ctry to educate.\u201d<\/p>\n

The case for vegetation, even during drought<\/p>\n

(Leah Hogsten | The Salt Lake Tribune) A water wise landscape with Hidcote Lavender, Sol Dancer Daisy and Coral Canyon Twinspur at the Jordan Valley Water Conservancy Garden Park, Thursday, July 14, 2022. <\/p>\n

Even in extremely dry and hot conditions, maintaining plants on landscapes provides environmental benefits, Wagner said. Turf, too, plays a role protecting soils, holding moisture and reducing urban heat-island effects. <\/p>\n

\u201cUnfortunately, there\u2019s also a myth that the only way to keep turf from going brown is to put down enough water and sometimes fertilizer too,\u201d Wagner said.<\/p>\n

In reality, it\u2019s often heat that turns traditional Kentucky bluegrass brown. Temperatures above 80 degrees will trigger it to go dormant. Homeowners try to counteract this natural response by overwatering, worrying natural brown patches mean the turf has died. <\/p>\n

\u201cTurf is a very tough, extremely tough landscape plant,\u201d Wagner said. \u201cWe\u2019ve done research trials \u2026 with USU and found [with] as little as a quarter inch of water a month, the turf will survive.\u201d<\/p>\n

For those who can\u2019t bear brown patches, USU has researched turf hybrids<\/a> that are better suited to Utah\u2019s hot and dry summers, staying green longer through the season. Grasses developed by the Turfgrass Water Conservation Alliance, a USU partner, are available at big-box home improvement stores<\/a> and certain sod farms.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you don\u2019t want to get rid of your grass, or your HOA says you have to have a certain amount, there\u2019s no reason why you can\u2019t transition,\u201d Wagner said. <\/p>\n

For those who still want to remove large swaths of their lawns, Wagner recommends other groundcovers that can handle heat rather than bare mulch and gravel. She likes low-grow oregano and creeping Oregon grape. And she supports turf mixed with other low-water groundcovers, like clover and yarrow, that have become trendy.<\/p>\n

\u201cSome people think it looks weedy, some think it looks cool,\u201d Wagner said. <\/p>\n

A common mistake when property owners rip out turf entirely and install water-wise landscaping, Wagner said, is neglecting the water needs of existing shrubs and trees. Mature plants provide shade and habitat for birds and other wildlife. Low-flow drip emitters aren\u2019t enough to meet the needs of large woody vegetation.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe top planting material we recommend protecting in times of drought, that you should purposely water, is mature trees and shrubs,\u201d Wagner said. \u201cTurf is last.\u201d<\/p>\n

Given Utah\u2019s rough water outlook this season, Wagner also encourages residents to hold off adding new perennials or lawns until the fall, when temperatures drop and rainfall (hopefully) returns. <\/p>\n

\u201cAny new planting is going to take more water to try to maintain it,\u201d she said, \u201cand \u2026 we\u2019re going to get hot here very quickly.\u201d<\/p>\n

USU Extension and the Jordan Valley Conservation Garden Park co-host a monthly online webinar called the \u201cUrban Conserver<\/a>\u201d with more tips on maintaining a low-water landscape. The classes are free and have proven popular, Wagner said. <\/p>\n

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