Arizona Governor Katie Hobbs is giving $14 million more to a water agency to fund water conservation projects in Arizona.
The Water Infrastructure Finance Authority has used $200 million to fund 189 grants in all of Arizona's counties.
One project currently being funded is grass removal in Gilbert. The town identified multiple areas with "non-functional turf," or grass which is not often used.
"This is a stormwater management area," Jeremiah Churchill, Gilbert's water conservation coordinator, said. "It's not recreational — we don't use it too much. Just by having rocks here, we can conserve a lot of water."
"The only time anyone really steps on it is when it needs to be mowed," Laura Hixson, Gilbert's water resources manager, said.
However, removing it costs a lot of money. For the 10 sites identified, they estimate it would cost $9 million.
Hixson and Churchill applied for a grant with WIFA. They received $3 million, which could help them replace the grass with desert landscapes and low-water usage plants at up to half of the identified locations.
Chelsea McGuire with WIFA says the project in Gilbert is just one example of their original $200 million worth of grant funds being put to use.
The extra $14 million coming from the Governor's office is a big help, as they had to deny many worthy applications the first time around.
“Right now, we’re able to save 5.5 million acre-feet of water," McGuire said. "We’re going to increase that number, and show Arizona and the rest of the U.S. how serious Arizona is about water conservation.”
McGuire says they're eager to put the money to work as soon as possible and are hoping to open the new application process the week of February 3.
