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63A-5b-1108
1
Water Wise Landscaping Amendments
2026 GENERAL SESSION
STATE OF UTAH
Chief Sponsor: Keven J. Stratton
House Sponsor: Casey Snider
LONG TITLE
General Description:
This bill addresses water wise landscaping requirements for public facilities.
Highlighted Provisions:
This bill:
defines terms;
imposes landscaping requirements related to state government facilities; and
makes technical and conforming changes.
Money Appropriated in this Bill:
None
Other Special Clauses:
None
Utah Code Sections Affected:
AMENDS:
63A-5b-1108
, as enacted by Laws of Utah 2022, Chapter 50
Be it enacted by the Legislature of the state of Utah:
Section 1. Section
63A-5b-1108
is amended to read:
63A-5b-1108
. Water wise landscaping and state government facilities.
(1)
As used in this section:
(a)
"Active use" means regular use for a community purpose, playing, exercise,
recreation, or regular outdoor activities, such as:
(i)
a sports field;
(ii)
a social gathering area;
(iii)
an amphitheater;
(iv)
a park;
(v)
the playing area, including a rough, driving range, or chipping and putting green,
of a golf course; or
(vi)
a cemetery.
(b)
"Canopy" means the layer of leaves, branches, and stems of trees or other plants that
when viewed from above as of the sooner of maturity or five years after planting can
be measured as a percentage of a land area shaded by the trees or other plants.
(c)
"Division" means the Division of Water Resources.
(d)
"Functional turf" means turf that:
(i)
is dedicated to active use; or
(ii)
(A)
is installed or maintained on an area with a slope of not more than 25%;
(B)
is at least eight feet wide at the turf's narrowest point;
(C)
is a native plant, has been hybridized for arid conditions, or has been
designated as low water use by the Utah State University Extension; and
(D)
is watered to the plant's needs and does not require overhead spray irrigation
unless the overhead spray irrigation system has activated weather or soil based
monitoring technology.
(b)
(e)
"Grounds" means the
real property, whether fenced or unfenced, of the parcel
of land on which is located a state government facility, including a public or private
driveway, street, sidewalk or walkway, parking lot, or parking garage on the property
portion of real property on which is located a state government facility designated for
landscaping, including natural landscaping, whether fenced or unfenced, excluding
building footprints and impervious surfaces
.
(f)
"Overhead spray irrigation" means above ground irrigation heads that spray water
through a nozzle.
(g)
"Park strip" means the area between the back of a curb or, if there is no curb, the
edge of pavement and the sidewalk.
(c)
(i)
Except as provided in Subsection
(1)(c)(ii)
, "lawn or turf" means
nonagricultural land planted in closely mowed, managed grasses.
(ii)
"Lawn or turf" does not include a golf course, park, athletic field, or sod farm.
(d)
(h)
"Reconstructed" means that a building is subject to construction that affects the
exterior of the building or the building's grounds.
(e)
(i)
(i)
"State agency" means a department, division, office, entity, agency, or other
unit of state government.
(ii)
"State agency" includes an institution of higher education.
(f)
(j)
(i)
"State government facility" means a building, structure, or other
improvement that is constructed on property owned by the state, the state's
departments, commissions, institutions, or other state agency.
(ii)
"State government facility" does not include:
(A)
an unoccupied structure that is a component of the state highway system;
(B)
a privately owned structure that is located on property owned by the state, the
state's department, commission, institution, or other state agency; or
(C)
a structure that is located on land administered by the trust lands
administration under a lease, permit, or contract with the trust lands
administration.
(k)
"Turf" means a natural living ground cover that:
(i)
produces a dense cover of contiguous plant coverage and an interconnected
subsurface root network;
(ii)
is installed or maintained on nonagricultural land; and
(iii)
is closely mowed, managed grasses.
(l)
"Water wise landscaping" means:
(i)
installation of plant materials suited to the microclimate and soil conditions that
can:
(A)
remain healthy with minimal irrigation once established; or
(B)
be maintained without the use of overhead spray irrigation, except for a
functional turf area that uses an active weather or soil based monitoring
technology;
(ii)
use of water for outdoor irrigation through proper and efficient irrigation design
and water application;
(iii)
use of other landscape design features that:
(A)
minimize the need of the landscape for supplemental water from irrigation; or
(B)
reduce the landscape area dedicated to turf that is not functional turf; and
(iv)
inclusion of a canopy.
(m)
"Weather or soil based monitoring technology" means one of the following
technologies that allow watering schedules to better match a plant's water needs:
(i)
a weather-based irrigation controller that uses local weather and landscape
conditions to tailor watering schedules; or
(ii)
a soil moisture-based irrigation controller or soil moisture sensor that monitors
moisture levels in the soil to prevent irrigation when water is not needed.
(2)
(a)
Unless exempted under Subsection
(2)(b)
, a state agency that owns or occupies a
state government facility that is built or reconstructed on or after
May 4, 2022
May
6, 2026
, may not have
more than
turf that is not functional turf:
(i)
that exceeds the lesser of:
(A)
20% of the grounds of the state government facility
be lawn or turf.
; or
(B)
the percentage of grounds allowed by ordinance in the municipality or county
where the state government facility is located; or
(ii)
in a park strip.
(b)
The division may exempt a state government facility from the restrictions of
Subsection
(2)(a)
if the division determines that the purposes of a state agency that
occupies the state government facility requires additional
lawn or turf
turf that is not
functional turf
.
(3)
(a)
A state agency shall reduce the state agency's outdoor water use as compared to
the state agency's outdoor water use for fiscal year 2020:
(i)
in an amount equal to or greater than 5% by the end of fiscal year 2023; and
(ii)
in an amount equal to or greater than 25% by the end of fiscal year 2026.
(b)
A state agency shall submit the following information to the division:
(i)
by no later than October 1, 2022:
(A)
the state agency's water use for fiscal year 2020; and
(B)
the state agency's water use for fiscal year 2022;
(ii)
by no later than October 1, 2023, the state agency's water use for fiscal year 2023;
and
(iii)
by no later than October 1, 2026, the state agency's water use for fiscal year 2026.
(c)
The division shall:
(i)
post the information provided to the division under this Subsection
(3)
on a public
website; and
(ii)
by rule, made in accordance with
Title 63G, Chapter 3, Utah Administrative
Rulemaking Act
, establish a uniform measure for purposes of this section of a
state agency's water use.
(4)
Except when allowed by the division, a state agency may not
use overhead spray
irrigation to
water landscapes at a state government facility between the hours of 10 a.m.
and 6 p.m.
(5)
A state agency shall do the following at a state government facility:
(a)
follow weekly lawn watering guides if issued by the division;
(b)
manually shut off
overhead spray irrigation
systems during rain and wind events if
the landscape irrigation system does not have
rain and wind shutoff functions
activated weather or soil based monitoring technology
;
(c)
implement a leak-detection and repair program for outdoor use;
(d)
coordinate with the division to implement water efficient methods, technologies, and
practices;
and
(e)
at least annually:
(i)
evaluate opportunities to update irrigation technology with devices that:
(A)
meet national recognized standards for efficiency;
(B)
include rain and wind shutoff functions; and
(C)
include soil moisture sensors;
(ii)
evaluate opportunities to:
(A)
subject to Subsection
(2)
, limit
lawn or turf
turf
on the grounds of
a
an
existing
state government facility and replace
lawn or turf
turf
with
water-wise plants
water wise landscaping, including native plant species
described in Subsection
(1)(d)(ii)(C)
;
and
(B)
update facility-management technology to include metering for
water-consuming processes related to irrigation and mechanical systems; and
(C)
add activated weather or soil based monitoring technology to overhead spray
irrigation systems; and
(iii)
audit and repair a landscape irrigation system so that the landscape irrigation
system is operating at maximum acceptable efficiency
.
; and
(f)
at the time a state government facility is built or reconstructed, consider landscaping
options that include functional turf.
(6)
(a)
Except as provided in Subsection
(6)(b)
, in addition to complying with the other
provisions of this section, a state agency that owns or occupies a state government
facility that is built or reconstructed on or after May 6, 2026, shall use water wise
landscaping for the grounds of the state government facility including ensuring that
canopy, which may include functional turf, covers at least 50% of the grounds of the
state government facility.
(b)
The amount of canopy or functional turf installed pursuant to Subsection
(6)(a)
may
not exceed what is allowed by ordinance in the municipality or county where the
state government facility is located.
Section 2.
Effective Date.
This bill takes effect on
May 6, 2026
.
2-13-26 8:59 AM