UNLV Replaces Grass

UNLV has replaced more than a million square feet of grass with water-efficient landscaping, such as this area outside the Carlson Education Building.

The University of Nevada-Las Vegas' Rebel Recycling program is a turf-reduction program that has ripped out a million square feet of grass from the 332-acre campus and replaced it with desert plants.

The most successful year for the program was 2009, when more than 200,000 square feet of grass was removed. That was also the year that two projects on campus took first and second place in the SNWA's Landscape Awards competition.

Watering the grass with above-ground sprinklers uses significantly more water than watering desert-friendly plants with an underground drip system, UNLV Facilities Manager Robert Lynn said.

He said the turf-reduction program is saving the university 55 million gallons of water a year. He figures that means he's saving the taxpayers well more than $100,000 a year in water bills.