LAYTON, Utah (ABC4) – Did you know watering your lawn as little as one less time per week can save as much as 3,000 gallons of water?

Layton City’s new landscape ordinance amendment focuses largely on using more drought resistant landscaping, eliminating the need to maintain ornamental grass in new developments, with the exception of single-family homes.

“The ordinance has been in the works for a number of years,” Chad Wilkinson, Community and Economic Development Director of Layton City, says.

  • LAKE POWELL, UT - MARCH 29: A boater navigates the waters of Lake Powell on March 29, 2015 in Lake Powell, Utah. As severe drought grips parts of the Western United States, a below average flow of water is expected to flow through the Colorado River Basin into two of its biggest reservoirs, Lake Powell and Lake Mead. Lake Powell is currently at 45 percent of capacity, a recent study predicts water elevation there to be above 3,575 by September. The Colorado River Basin supplies water to 40 million people in seven western states. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)
    LAKE POWELL, UT – MARCH 29: A boater navigates the waters of Lake Powell on March 29, 2015 in Lake Powell, Utah. As severe drought grips parts of the Western United States, a below average flow of water is expected to flow through the Colorado River Basin into two of its biggest reservoirs, Lake Powell and Lake Mead. Lake Powell is currently at 45 percent of capacity, a recent study predicts water elevation there to be above 3,575 by September. The Colorado River Basin supplies water to 40 million people in seven western states. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)
  • LAKE POWELL, UT - MARCH 28: A bleached "bathtub ring" is visible on the rocky banks of Lake Powell on March 28, 2015 in Lake Powell, Utah. As severe drought grips parts of the Western United States, a below average flow of water is expected to enter Lake Powell and Lake Mead, the two biggest reservoirs of the Colorado River Basin. Lake Powell is currently at 45 percent of capacity, a recent study predicts water elevation there to be above 3,575 by September. The Colorado River Basin supplies water to 40 million people in seven western states. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)
    LAKE POWELL, UT – MARCH 28: A bleached “bathtub ring” is visible on the rocky banks of Lake Powell on March 28, 2015 in Lake Powell, Utah. As severe drought grips parts of the Western United States, a below average flow of water is expected to enter Lake Powell and Lake Mead, the two biggest reservoirs of the Colorado River Basin. Lake Powell is currently at 45 percent of capacity, a recent study predicts water elevation there to be above 3,575 by September. The Colorado River Basin supplies water to 40 million people in seven western states. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)
  • LAKE POWELL, UT - MARCH 28: A bleached "bathtub ring" is visible on the rocky banks of Lake Powell on March 28, 2015 in Lake Powell, Utah. As severe drought grips parts of the Western United States, a below average flow of water is expected to enter Lake Powell and Lake Mead, the two biggest reservoirs of the Colorado River Basin. Lake Powell is currently at 45 percent of capacity, a recent study predicts water elevation there to be above 3,575 by September. The Colorado River Basin supplies water to 40 million people in seven western states. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)
    LAKE POWELL, UT – MARCH 28: A bleached “bathtub ring” is visible on the rocky banks of Lake Powell on March 28, 2015 in Lake Powell, Utah. As severe drought grips parts of the Western United States, a below average flow of water is expected to enter Lake Powell and Lake Mead, the two biggest reservoirs of the Colorado River Basin. Lake Powell is currently at 45 percent of capacity, a recent study predicts water elevation there to be above 3,575 by September. The Colorado River Basin supplies water to 40 million people in seven western states. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)
  • LAKE POWELL, UT - MARCH 28: A bleached "bathtub ring" is visible on the rocky banks of Lake Powell on March 28, 2015 in Lake Powell, Utah. As severe drought grips parts of the Western United States, a below average flow of water is expected to enter Lake Powell and Lake Mead, the two biggest reservoirs of the Colorado River Basin. Lake Powell is currently at 45 percent of capacity, a recent study predicts water elevation there to be above 3,575 by September. The Colorado River Basin supplies water to 40 million people in seven western states. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)
    LAKE POWELL, UT – MARCH 28: A bleached “bathtub ring” is visible on the rocky banks of Lake Powell on March 28, 2015 in Lake Powell, Utah. As severe drought grips parts of the Western United States, a below average flow of water is expected to enter Lake Powell and Lake Mead, the two biggest reservoirs of the Colorado River Basin. Lake Powell is currently at 45 percent of capacity, a recent study predicts water elevation there to be above 3,575 by September. The Colorado River Basin supplies water to 40 million people in seven western states. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)
  • LAKE POWELL, UT - MARCH 28: A bleached "bathtub ring" is visible on the rocky banks of Lake Powell on March 28, 2015 in Lake Powell, Utah. As severe drought grips parts of the Western United States, a below average flow of water is expected to enter Lake Powell and Lake Mead, the two biggest reservoirs of the Colorado River Basin. Lake Powell is currently at 45 percent of capacity, a recent study predicts water elevation there to be above 3,575 by September. The Colorado River Basin supplies water to 40 million people in seven western states. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)
    LAKE POWELL, UT – MARCH 28: A bleached “bathtub ring” is visible on the rocky banks of Lake Powell on March 28, 2015 in Lake Powell, Utah. As severe drought grips parts of the Western United States, a below average flow of water is expected to enter Lake Powell and Lake Mead, the two biggest reservoirs of the Colorado River Basin. Lake Powell is currently at 45 percent of capacity, a recent study predicts water elevation there to be above 3,575 by September. The Colorado River Basin supplies water to 40 million people in seven western states. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)
  • BIG WATER, UT - MARCH 29: A paddleboarder floats by Lone rock on Lake Powell on March 29, 2015 near Big Water, Utah. As severe drought grips parts of the Western United States, a below average flow of water is expected to flow through the Colorado River Basin into two of its biggest reservoirs, Lake Powell and Lake Mead. Lake Powell is currently at 45 percent of capacity, a recent study predicts water elevation there to be above 3,575 by September. The Colorado River Basin supplies water to 40 million people in seven western states. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)
    BIG WATER, UT – MARCH 29: A paddleboarder floats by Lone rock on Lake Powell on March 29, 2015 near Big Water, Utah. As severe drought grips parts of the Western United States, a below average flow of water is expected to flow through the Colorado River Basin into two of its biggest reservoirs, Lake Powell and Lake Mead. Lake Powell is currently at 45 percent of capacity, a recent study predicts water elevation there to be above 3,575 by September. The Colorado River Basin supplies water to 40 million people in seven western states. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)
  • (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)
    BIG WATER, UT – MARCH 29: A bleached “bathtub ring” is visible on Lone rock at Lake Powell on March 29, 2015 near Big Water, Utah. As severe drought grips parts of the Western United States, a below average flow of water is expected to flow through the Colorado River Basin into two of its biggest reservoirs, Lake Powell and Lake Mead. Lake Powell is currently at 45 percent of capacity, a recent study predicts water elevation there to be above 3,575 by September. The Colorado River Basin supplies water to 40 million people in seven western states. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)
  • FILE - This Feb. 17, 2021 file photo shows an empty irrigation canal at a tree farm in Corrales, N.M., with the Sandia Mountains in the background, as much of the West is mired in drought, with New Mexico, Arizona, Nevada and Utah being among the hardest hit. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s official spring outlook Thursday, March 18, 2021, sees an expanding drought with a drier than normal April, May and June for a large swath of the country from Louisiana to Oregon. including some areas hardest hit by the most severe drought. And nearly all of the continental United States is looking at warmer than normal spring, except for tiny parts of the Pacific Northwest and southeast Alaska, which makes drought worse. (AP Photo/Susan Montoya Bryan)
    FILE – This Feb. 17, 2021 file photo shows an empty irrigation canal at a tree farm in Corrales, N.M., with the Sandia Mountains in the background, as much of the West is mired in drought, with New Mexico, Arizona, Nevada and Utah being among the hardest hit. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s official spring outlook Thursday, March 18, 2021, sees an expanding drought with a drier than normal April, May and June for a large swath of the country from Louisiana to Oregon. including some areas hardest hit by the most severe drought. And nearly all of the continental United States is looking at warmer than normal spring, except for tiny parts of the Pacific Northwest and southeast Alaska, which makes drought worse. (AP Photo/Susan Montoya Bryan)

“So this was not necessarily about any specific water condition other than we realized that we live in a desert. This is an arid climate, and then the responsible thing to do is to look at ways to conserve water…,” he tells ABC4.

The amendment puts in place numerous new requirements aimed at saving water. It sets a maximum allowance of turfgrass permitted on new commercial, industrial, multifamily residential developments, and masterplan residential communities, in place of what used to be a minimum amount.

Commercial, industrial, and multifamily residential properties are allowed a maximum of 15% of the site’s landscaping to be made up of turfgrass. For master-planned communities, the maximum amount of turfgrass is slightly higher at 35%.

“It’s bumped up slightly because we recognized the need for some recreational open space… that might have a place for someone to roll a ball or play frisbee,” Wilkinson says.

The focus of the amendment is to remove impediments to installing drought resistant landscaping.

“The idea is that you still have a significant amount of landscaping. It would just be landscaping that requires less water use, so drought-resistant, native plants. With the sprinkler systems, that would move away from pop-up sprinklers or other types of overhead sprinklers to more of a drip irrigation system that would conserve more water,” Wilkinson explains.

The amendment also adds requirements for sprinklers. For example, turf is prohibited in areas of less than eight feet in width to prevent water from irrigation systems ending up on sidewalks rather than grass.

Wilkinson says he anticipates eliminating turf will save a significant amount of water. Though the changes do not apply to single-family homes, the city has made recommendations for these developments, Wilkinson tells ABC4.