Teaching Water-Wise Landscape Design to Conserve Water

Introduction

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In the Intermountain West, snowpack-fed mountain streams provide the water supply to support growing populations in the semi-arid and arid valleys below. However, that snowpack is diminishing. Between 1955 and 2022, the majority of the Intermountain West experienced a 23% decline in April snowpack (EPA, 2023). Climate change will continue to exacerbate the imbalance between water demand and supply by increasing aridity and the number of consecutive years of low snowpack (Marshall et al., 2019 and Overpeck and Udall, 2020). The demand for water in the Intermountain West already exceeds supply, yet the region’s population centers continue to expand (Miller et al., 2021). States in the region are experiencing population booms, such as Utah, where the population is expected to increase 66% between 2020 and 2060 (Kem C. Gardner Policy Institute, 2023). The reliance on water originating outside of population centers makes these cities sensitive to drought and decreasing snowpack.

To decrease municipal water use, state and local governments are developing policies and incentives for residents to install more water-efficient landscapes. For instance, the Las Vegas Valley Water District offers homeowners rebates for installing xeriscape landscaping, and converting cool season turf lawns to warm season grasses (WATA, n.d.). In 2022, Utah’s Division of Water Resources implemented a landscape incentive program to provide homeowners with landscape rebates when they replace their turf lawns with water-wise landscapes. As defined by Utah Code, a water-wise landscape can remain healthy with minimal irrigation, and without overhead spray irrigation due to the reduced coverage of turf grasses and inclusion of plant material suited to the location's microclimate and soil conditions. 

However, many homeowners feel unprepared to design their personal landscapes to be more water-wise. To bridge this knowledge gap and promote the conservation of municipal water through water-wise design, Utah State University’s Landscape Architecture and Environmental Planning (LAEP) Extension staff administer Design 4 Every Drop, a landscape design course for homeowners based on seven principles of a water-wise landscape. LAEP Extension specialists designed the course to target homeowners because there are many new housing developments due to the state’s growing population. The course teaches homeowners how water-wise landscapes can provide the functional and aesthetic benefits of a conventional landscape, with additional water conservation and ecosystem benefits. The hybrid water-wise course includes four weeks of online education and an in-person workshop to guide homeowners through the process of creating a water-wise design on their own property. 

Key Issues Addressed

While municipal water makes up under 10% of water withdrawn and consumed in Utah, 60% of this water is used to irrigate landscapes that provide limited benefits to communities and ecosystems (EPA, 2017). Water used for irrigation is not returned back to streams or reservoirs, but is instead lost from the system through runoff and transpiration (EPA, 2017). European colonization established settlement patterns and associated landscape design aesthetics based primarily on Europe’s wetter climate. Not surprisingly, these aesthetics continue to influence modern western landscaping design today. Design trends, such as large lot sizes with expansive turf lawns and reliance on non-native ornamental plants poorly adapted to local conditions, require high inputs of water while providing minimal ecosystem benefits. 

Homeowners can reduce water use by implementing the seven principles of water-wise landscape design, including reducing the cover of turf grasses, installing drip irrigation systems and irrigation-smart controllers, grouping plants with the same water needs together into hydrozones, and using mulch to prevent evaporation and runoff. However, homeowners often need help overcoming the stigmas of water-wise landscaping because they often associate such landscapes with barren spaces, or overgrown, “weedy” areas that lack functionality and aesthetics. 

Although water-wise demonstration gardens can share a powerful vision of what a water-wise landscape can look like, adapting water-wise landscaping principles from demonstration gardens and online resources can be difficult for homeowners without additional guidance. Other courses, such as the free online LocalScapes, provide participants with a simple framework for design and resources on irrigation and water-wise plants, but the course lacks lessons on design functionality and aesthetics. Helping individuals modify their landscapes is a personal and often time-intensive process. In order to see the kind of water reductions necessary in the West, Extension specialists and water conservation managers who want to teach water-wise design need to discover the most efficient and effective format and course content. There also needs to be communication with participants over time to measure course effectiveness, and adapt course formats based on participant feedback.

Project Goals

• Utilize the Design 4 Every Drop course to teach homeowners how to design water-wise landscapes to help overcome conventional trends and stigmas of water-wise landscape design.
• Facilitate knowledge sharing and provide mentorship for homeowners to apply water-wise designs in their landscapes.
• Evaluate the most effective ways to teach homeowners the principles of landscape design by comparing pre- and post-responses from Design 4 Every Drop participants. 

Project Highlights

Leading by example: USU’s Center for Water Efficient Landscaping installed water-wise landscapes in a new housing complex in Cedar City, and created the Main Street Water-Wise Demonstration Garden.

• Online Coursework: In fall 2023, LAEP Extension specialists administered the Design 4 Every Drop hybrid course in five different locations, teaching 50 homeowners the step-by-step design process behind water-wise landscape design. The first part of the course consisted of online modules with material and activities for homeowners to complete. These included making a base map and site inventory of their property, establishing personal goals for their landscape, and gathering information and images to show how homeowners want their landscapes to feel, look, and function. The last module focused on how to implement water-wise technologies and techniques including mulch, plant selection, rainwater harvesting, and smart irrigation. By the end of the online portion of the workshop and associated workbook , participants had completed an assessment of their property, calculated water use, and had a list of design elements they wanted to include in their landscape design. 
• In-Person Workshop: After completing the online course, participants attended a day-and-a-half-long workshop in which extension staff reviewed participants' concept plans and taught homeowners how to communicate their design ideas graphically. This included sharing sample symbology for landscape features and demonstrating how to ensure uniform scale and directionality when drawing. Participants were given time to develop concept plans and extension staff provided critiques, guidance, and advice to each participant. The staff also taught homeowners how to visualize the movement of water from precipitation and irrigation to design landscapes that allow water to slow, sink, and spread in the landscape. To accomplish this, staff explained the equipment used to store rain, such as cisterns and rain barrels, and where to connect low areas in the landscape and create depressions to capture water. Each of these exercises helped participants think through, create, and draw a feasible landscape design for their personal property. The in-person workshop concluded with tips on how to integrate irrigation technology into designs, create hydrozones, and where to include plants, mulch, and soil amendments.
• Workshop Surveys: Prior to the workshop, staff administered surveys to gauge the participant’s knowledge of water-wise design. After the workshop, participants completed a post-workshop survey to measure the effectiveness of the course. Based on comparisons to the pre-workshop survey, participants gained the most knowledge regarding how to create multiple landscape design alternatives and how to utilize hydrozones. The most common steps of water-wise design taken by participants after the workshop included using mulch to retain soil moisture, using water-wise plant varieties, and smart irrigation controllers. 

Lessons Learned

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In the post-workshop survey administered approximately 4 months after the course, participants estimated, based on personal observation and their water bills, that they used an average of 20% less water maintaining their landscapes after the course. Even if participants had not yet implemented all of the water-wise principles, many reported installing mulch, drip irrigation systems, and purchasing smart irrigation controllers. The course instructors attribute much of the success of the course to its hybrid format. This format works better than an online or in-person only course because the participants attended the in-person workshop prepared with an understanding of their individual site and personal goals. The in-person component of the course added accountability for participants to complete and act on their designs, and built their confidence in their design ideas as they shared ideas, received feedback from the instructors, and critiqued each other's designs. 

The design process can take several months to years and typically involves many design iterations, so it is important for participants to recognize the amount of time and critical thinking that must be invested for a functional water-wise design to be realized. Staff provided feedback as all participants developed multiple alternatives for their landscapes during the course. Reiterating designs encouraged participants to hone in on a design that balanced their notions of what they want, what is possible, what conserves water, and creating a space to serve multiple purposes.

To improve the effectiveness of the course, instructors suggest providing participants with more time for the online coursework, and providing more real-world examples of water-wise design. Instructors would include all elements of concept designs during the online coursework, such as the symbology, scale, and directionality, to save more time for drafting schematic plans and planting design during the in-person workshop.

Next Steps

• Follow up with 2023 course participants in 2025 to see how many implemented their designs, and what barriers still remain to realizing their designs
• Teach additional Design 4 Every Drop courses in spring of 2024
• Prior to the start of the spring 2024 course, ask participants their expectations for the course, then adjust the course format accordingly

Funding Partners

Utah State University’s Landscape Architecture and Environmental Planning Extension

Resources

• EPA. (2017). “Outdoor water use in the United States.”
• EPA. (2023). “Climate change indicators: snowpack”. 
• Kem C. Gardner Policy Institute. (2022). “Utah population to increase by 2.2 million people through 2060.” 
• Marshall et al. (2019). “Projected changes in interannual variability of peak snowpack amount and timing in the western United States.” Geophysical Research Letters 46-15:8882-8892. 
• Miller et al. (2021). “Changing climate drives future streamflow declines and challenges in meeting water demand across the southwestern United States.” Journal of Hydrology 11. 
• Overpeck J., T. and Udall B. (2020). “Climate change and the aridification of North America.” PNAS 117 (22): 11856-11858. 
• Water Adaptation Techniques Atlas. (n.d.) “Rebates for xeriscaping and coupons for car washes - Las Vegas water conservation programs.”
• Utah State University’s Landscape Architecture and Environmental Planning Extension

Contacts

• Jake Powell, Utah State University Extension: jake.powell@usu.edu
• Rowe Zwahlen, Utah State University Extension: rowe.zwahlen@usu.edu

CART Lead Author

Jackelyn Alessi, Case Study Author, Drought Learning Network (DLN): jackelyn.alessi@gmail.com

Suggested Citation

Alessi, J.,R., Powell, J., and Zwahlen, R. (2024). “Teaching Water-Wise Landscaping Design to Conserve Water in the Intermountain West.” CART. Retrieved from https://www.fws.gov/project/teaching-water-wise-landscape-design-conserve-water.