Washington County has dramatically reduced per-capita water use, but the region’s explosive growth means increased demand for water.

Washington County, Utah will pay residents to swap water-intensive lawns for drought-tolerant landscaping, reports Morgan Sjogren in Reasons to Be Cheerful.
According to Sjogren, 70 percent of residential culinary water in Utah is used on grass lawns. “By shifting landscaping away from grass and to plants more readily adapted to the climate, the Washington County Water Conservancy District estimates that residents can reduce landscape watering to 11 gallons per square foot annually, compared to 56 gallons for conventional turf.”
Residents who apply for the program have a year to complete projects to receive the incentive of $2 per square foot of converted turf, and $1 per square foot after 5,000 square feet. The program includes stipulations about irrigation, permeable barriers, and types of plants.
Since the program began in late 2022, 2,044 applications have been submitted and 918 projects are complete. Although Washington County has reduced its per capita water use by 30 percent since 2000, rapid population growth means that the county’s overall water use has grown by 15 percent in the same period.
FULL STORY: This Utah County Will Buy Your Lawn to Save Water

New Florida Law Curbs HOA Power
The legislation seeks to cut down on ‘absurd’ citations for low-level violations.

New Tennessee Law Allows No-Cost Incentives for Affordable Housing
Local governments in the Volunteer State can now offer developers incentives like increased density, lower parking requirements, and priority permitting for affordable housing projects.

Planners’ Complicity in Excessive Traffic Deaths
Professor Wes Marshall’s provocatively-titled new book, "Killed by a Traffic Engineer," has stimulated fierce debates. Are his criticisms justified? Let’s examine the degree that traffic engineers contribute to avoidable traffic deaths.

Study: Housing Crisis is About Affordability, not Supply
New research shows that there is no overall shortage of housing units, but all U.S. metropolitan areas face a severe lack of affordable units for low-income renters.

Are Race-Based Lawsuits Affecting Community Lenders?
Shelterforce spoke with community lending leaders and experts about the current mood across the sector. What, if anything, are organizations doing to avoid becoming the next target of conservative activists?

New Park Promotes Community and Connectivity in Lewisville, Texas
The city of Lewisville just celebrated the opening of Glory Park/Parque la Gloria, helping to improve park access and the quality of life for residents.
City of Madera
City of Santa Clarita
Borough of Carlisle
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
Chaddick Institute at DePaul University
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
Colorado Energy Office
Pima County Community College District
City of Piedmont, CA
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