Easy practices to reduce outdoor water waste

As more people switch to eco-friendly and energy-efficient practices, they're discovering the problem isn't just leaky faucets and inefficient sprinklers. The part of their landscape that wastes the most water is often the greenest: their lawns.

"The English lawn has become the American expectation," says Chris Brown, executive director of the California Urban Water Conservation Council, "but we're trying to reproduce a landscape that wouldn't grow here naturally."

To dissuade wasteful habits, water providers in drought-prone areas like California and Nevada are offering incentives for homeowners to "green" their lawns by growing native plants as well as picking up other water conserving practices.

The San Diego County Water Authority gives rebates starting at $230 for weather-based irrigation systems and $4 rebates per rotating hose nozzle that acts like an on-off switch. The Southern Nevada Water Authority is paying homeowners $1 to $1.50 per square foot — with a maximum of $300,000 — to rip up their grass and replace it with water efficient plants.

"People's perception of water use and the reality are quite different," said Doug Bennett, conservation manager at the Southern Nevada Water Authority. "They don't know how much water their lawns use. They think, 'No, it's my shower.'"

The federal government is also interested in changing consumer water habits. The Environmental Protection Agency has launched a water conservation program, called WaterSense, to help consumers find water-saving products for inside and outside the home.

Here are some of the best ways to save water outside your home:

LANDSCAPING: Skip the grass and grow plants Mother Nature intended for your region and climate. A study done last year by the Southern Nevada Water Authority found the annual water bill for a lawn with grass was on average $2,600, almost 3.5 times more than the $770 bill for a lawn with native plants, such as Foxtail Fern and Pink Desert Hibiscus.

Another bonus? No more lawnmower.