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Native Colorado grass saving water in Arapahoe County

Arapahoe County to save 1.5 million gallons of water by replacing Kentucky Bluegrass with native Colorado prairie grass.

LITTLETON, Colo. — Arapahoe County is getting back to its native roots by replacing Kentucky Bluegrass with Colorado prairie grass. 

The goal is to save water. The Bluegrass can require up to 2.5 inches of water every week during the hot summer months, while the native prairie grass will not require irrigation at all.

“The great benefit of it is that we are going to save 1.5 million gallons of water, irrigation water per year," said Luc Hatlestad with Arapahoe County. "Which is enough to supply a family of four for 25 years."

And that's just the savings for a 3-acre lot in front of the County Administration building in Littleton. If the project is as successful as they hope, more county lots will get converted.

Hatlestad said that Arapahoe County is projected to become Colorado’s most populated county by 2030 and their goal is to reduce water consumption by at least 13%. 

"It's part of our guided growth initiative that we created in 2019," he said. "We have a number of science-based experts that are telling us, here's where things are headed, and here's how you can do things a little more responsibly."

He said that Climate Change is on the forefront of Arapahoe County leaders and they are open to all ideas to be conservative with resources. 

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