TAYLORSVILLE, Utah — Not all Utah properties need to lose their green to actually go green, that's the lesson many are sharing as the concerns over water conservation continue to grow around the state.
Janet Selck and her husband have lived in their Taylorsville home since 1985. She shared what their yard used to look like before a big change.
“We had lots of grass, a curb strip that goes on forever and you never could keep it green,” she said.
The Selck's watched their kids play in the grass and grow just like their trees, but maintaining the property in Utah’s everchanging climate proved to be difficult and expensive.
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So they changed it to a water-wise landscape in 2016, with a reduced grass area.
“There’s a water problem and we have a decent-sized yard that took a lot of water to keep the grass green," Janet explained. "So, we only have a small amount [of grass] now and the rest is bushes, trees, and plants.”
At Utah Water Ways, Cynthia Bee helps people come up with sustainable solutions to similar problems every day and shared a look into a new Envision study regarding water conservation.
“When you ask people what they’re doing to conserve water, they say taking a shorter shower, but a pretty high percentage of people don’t realize that about 60% of the average homeowner's water use is the outside landscaping,” Bee said.
Bee says changing your landscape is the easiest way to cut back on usage without changing your lifestyle.
“It’s about thinking about all the living things in your environment and making a space for everyone, and keeping it in balance with the climates we actually live in.”
If it came to a tiered water system rate across the state, the Selck’s are already one step ahead.
“We actually saw a neighbor’s bill and it was about 6, 7, or 8 times the size of our bill and her yard is not even as big as ours, but she’s watering her grass,” Selck said.
While the fun scenery and bird sightings are among their favorite things, Selck doesn't miss the days of high water bills and long hours of yard work.
