Longmont is using data to answer a deceptively simple conservation question: which lawns should come out first?
Victoria Arling of WaterNow explains how the city worked through the Project Accelerator to identify nonfunctional turf on city-owned properties and build a more systematic way to prioritize future conversions.
The effort brought together Longmont’s water conservation team with roughly a dozen other city departments, including planning, community development, and public art.
The group first developed a shared definition of nonfunctional turf, then mapped where that grass exists across municipal property.
From there, the city built a decision tool that weighs factors such as potential water savings, plant choices, neighborhood heat vulnerability, project visibility, budget, and local context.
The analysis found that as much as 75 percent of turf on city-owned properties could be considered nonfunctional, creating a substantial pipeline of potential conservation projects.
For Arling, the larger lesson is that turf removal becomes more effective when cities stop treating every lawn the same and use data to decide where investment can deliver the greatest benefit.
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