WEST JORDAN, Utah — Bentlee and Stephen Edgington love having a much smaller lawn.
Instead, their front yard is made up of native, water-wise landscaping. There is a small area of grass in the backyard.
"It looks great and it has a lot of the same plants that I was excited about in our last home," Bentlee Edgington told FOX 13 News.
The Edgingtons recently moved to Terraine, a new development in West Jordan. The 3,000 home development on 600 acres of land advertises itself as being close to trails and nature. It also proudly touts its water-wise landscaping.
"We do have lawns in the community, but our primary emphasis is on how we can create a beautiful pallet of plants that are based on native Utah plants," said Ty McCutcheon, a partner in Third Cadence, which is behind the Terraine development.
Terraine's entire development utilizing water-wise landscaping is believed to be the first of its kind in northern Utah (several developments in southern Utah have leaned into it as that region of the state is more closely impacted by the declines along the Colorado River).
"We recognize that water is a valuable resource here in Utah and people want to be part of the solution," said McCutcheon. "They’re looking for easy ways to do that."
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The emphasis on water-wise landscaping was a selling point for the Edgingtons, who were exploring converting their yard on their old home.
"I like having my own space, but I also don’t like maintaining my own space," said Stephen Edgington. "So it made it a really nice feel to have a little bit of a yard and just the nature around us."
Such landscaping can have significant water savings. McCutcheon estimated they will use 70% less water than other developments.
"As we think about the residential environment, the place we use the most water is in our yards. And if we can design yards that are both beautiful and conserve water we can incorporate all that into our future," he told FOX 13 News.
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With the dramatic declines of the Great Salt Lake and Utah political leaders' push to get it back to a healthy level in time for the 2034 Olympics, lawmakers are looking to run bills again that promote water conservation. Rep. Doug Owens, D-Millcreek, told FOX 13 News he intends to introduce a bill that prods communities across the state to adopt water conservation ordinances for new construction.
He applauded Terraine's initiative.
"In the long run you’re going to save water and we’re going to have that landscape in the long run because we’re not going to have water for landscaping in five or 10 years," Rep. Owens said. "We’re going to take that water for our people and for the lake."
The state has tried to push communities to adopt water conservation ordinances governing new construction, including making it a requirement for financial incentives. But data provided to FOX 13 News by the Utah Division of Water Resources shows 95 different communities in the Great Salt Lake basin alone have yet to.
Rep. Owens said he is exploring offering more incentives and other methods that could force a change. The Utah League of Cities & Towns, which represents municipalities on Capitol Hill, said it was still evaluating Rep. Owens' proposed legislation and had taken no position on it yet.
The bill will be considered when lawmakers begin meeting later this month.
"That’s the delicate dance in the bill that we’ll have to work out is how much can we get away with," Rep. Owens told FOX 13 News. "Trying to put some love and affection with please hurry up and do this because we need the water."
The Edgingtons so far like what they have, looking forward to Spring when the native plants begin to bloom again.
"I really believe in sustainability and I know about Utah’s water issues," Bentlee said. "And also, it’s freaking beautiful."
This article is published through the Great Salt Lake Collaborative, a solutions journalism initiative that partners news, education and media organizations to help inform people about the plight of the Great Salt Lake—and what can be done to make a difference before it is too late. Read all of our stories at greatsaltlakenews.org.
