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The outliers in urban residential landscaping: Why these homeowners tore out their turf

A growing number of Colorado homeowners want to kill something, namely their grass. ‘Living in a semiarid environment,’ says one, ‘we shouldn’t just be throwing water on the ground.’

“If you make it easy to conserve water, they will do it,” he said. “If you make it really difficult, then they will come back to it when they have time. That is the reason that so many people continue with their current landscaping year after year. It takes time to make changes.”

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At Colorado River’s headwaters, questions about whether there’s enough water for lawns

The Western Slope delivers 70% of the Colorado River water. So why do Aspen, Vail, Grand Junction and others want to replace thirsty turf?

“It’s not about drought years,” says Eagle River Water and Sanitation District’s general manager. “It’s about a drying climate. We have to get people to shift their attitudes, to know that water is getting to be more scarce.”


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