Front yard with water-wise landscaping. Photo Credit: Cadenasso Lab, UC Davis

California's urban water agencies have long relied on conservation measures to promote reliability and manage costs. Since landscapes are a large portion of water demand in California cities, many water agencies encourage water conservation by incentivizing the replacement of water-intensive turf lawns with water-efficient or “water-wise” landscaping.

In California's Mediterranean climate, traditional turfgrass lawns require irrigation to maintain their appearance through the hot summer months. Inefficient, poorly managed spray irrigation systems can also result in considerable water loss from runoff...