Jenn Duff Councilmember | City Of Mesa Government
Jenn Duff Councilmember | City Of Mesa Government
Mesa's Grass-to-Xeriscape program led to the removal of approximately 330,000 square feet of turf in 2024. This initiative supports businesses, homeowners associations (HOAs), and residential customers by offsetting the costs associated with transitioning to low-water-use landscapes.
A significant contributor to the program's success was the non-residential segment. The City of Mesa secured $710,000 in grant funding from the Water Infrastructure Finance Authority of Arizona (WIFA) to aid non-residential landscape conversions. The program quickly gained traction, with over $500,000 of this funding allocated within ten months to 17 customers, each receiving an average incentive of $33,000. These findings were presented during a recent council study session by Mesa's sustainability and water conservation teams.
The impact of these non-residential projects is notable for long-term water savings. A total of 282,000 square feet of grass will be replaced with drought-resistant plants, resulting in an estimated annual water savings of seven million gallons or 22 acre-feet. Over five years, cumulative savings are expected to reach 105 million gallons or 322 acre-feet. For context, one acre-foot can supply three or more homes with potable water for a year.
The program also offers incentives for upgrading irrigation equipment like smart controllers and flow sensors. Completed irrigation projects in 2024 are projected to save over 13 million gallons annually or 41 acre-feet.
Mesa extends similar incentives to homeowners for future grass removal projects. Since its launch in 2007, over 600 homes have converted their landscapes, removing a total of 575,000 square feet of grass and saving an estimated cumulative total of 142 million gallons or 435 acre-feet. In 2019, a tree bonus was introduced as part of the City's Trees Are Cool Initiative aiming to plant one million trees by 2050; so far, it has resulted in the planting of 230 trees.
For more details on Mesa's incentive programs, visit mesaaz.gov/conservation.
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