Nevada AB 356 · nonfunctional grass
From January, watering decorative grass starts costing money.
Nevada’s AB 356 stops Colorado River water being used on nonfunctional grass from 1 January 2027, on every property that is not zoned exclusively for single-family homes. The Las Vegas Valley Water District has proposed per-violation fees from the same date, reaching $5,120 on a large meter. Houses are exempt. HOAs, commercial, multifamily and office properties are not.
Written and kept current by Caimward LLC, Las Vegas. Every figure on this page is sourced and dated at the bottom.
The law in three lines
Who it hits, what has to go, what can stay.
Who it applies to
Any property not zoned exclusively for single-family residences: HOA common areas, commercial and retail, multifamily and apartments, office and industrial parks, churches, government land. A single-family home is exempt.
What has to go
Irrigated grass that nobody uses — streetscapes, frontage, medians, parking islands, courtyards, entry features and the decorative strips beside buildings.
What can stay
Grass that gets used: recreation areas, athletic fields, playgrounds, golf play areas, cemetery special-use areas, limited pet-relief and resident turf. It still has to meet the functional-grass test, and waivers are applied for.
Proposed penalties
The fee doubles every time.
This is the part property owners miss. It is not one fine. It is a per-violation fee that doubles with each one, and it is scaled to the size of the meter feeding the grass — so the bigger the property, the faster it compounds.
| Water meter | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | 5th or more |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 inch and under | $80 | $160 | $320 | $640 | $1,280 |
| Over 1 inch, under 3 inches | $160 | $320 | $640 | $1,280 | $2,560 |
| 3 inches and over | $320 | $640 | $1,280 | $2,560 | $5,120 |
These figures are proposed, not adopted. The Las Vegas Valley Water District takes public comment on them until 6pm on 26 October 2026. If they matter to a property you are responsible for, that is a date to put in the calendar.
Estimator
What the conversion is worth, and what waiting costs.
Put in the square footage of the grass that has to come out and the size of the meter watering it. You get the rebate the conversion should attract and the proposed fee exposure if it does not happen.
The rebate rate is the conservative one. Three sources published three different numbers in the first week of October 2026, and we use the lowest of them, because a contractor who quotes the highest and gets paid the lowest covers the gap out of his own pocket. Confirm your property’s rate with SNWA before you budget from it.
Apply before you dig. SNWA requires a pre-conversion site visit. Grass removed before that visit makes the whole project ineligible for any rebate at all.
Where the money goes missing
Three ways this costs more than it should.
The grass comes out before SNWA sees it
The pre-conversion site visit is not paperwork; it is the eligibility test. Remove the turf first and the rebate is gone, permanently. The work still has to be done.
Artificial turf goes in expecting a rebate
It does not qualify. The rebate pays for drip-irrigated plants and trees. Install artificial turf and the property funds the entire conversion itself.
The decision waits until January
Every property in the valley is working to the same date, with the same contractors. The ones that move in the fourth quarter get a choice of crew and a price. The ones that move in January get whoever is free, and a fee notice while they wait.
If you install the landscape
Landscape contractors.
When the fees start, property managers go looking for someone who has done this before. They will check your licence, your insurance, your Water Smart Landscaper listing and your before-and-afters — and most of them will do it on your website first.
Caimward builds that: a conversion page on your own domain, a working estimator like the one above, a quote form that asks for square footage and meter size so leads arrive qualified, a one-page vendor packet a property manager can drop straight into a file, and your Google Business Profile updated to say you do this work. Quoted per business, and every account registered in your name.
If you are responsible for the property
HOA boards and property managers.
We are not a landscape contractor and we will not pretend to be. What we can tell you is how to check that the one you are about to hire is real:
- An active Nevada C‑10 licence, verified on the Contractors Board site
- Current liability and workers’ compensation certificates naming your property
- Listed as an SNWA Water Smart Landscaper — proof they have done the rebate process
- Three before-and-after conversions you can go and look at
- A response time, in writing, before you sign
If a contractor you already trust has no answer to the rebate question on their website, send them this page.
Questions
AB 356, answered plainly.
- What is Nevada AB 356?
- Assembly Bill 356, passed in 2021, prohibits the use of Colorado River water to irrigate nonfunctional grass in Southern Nevada from 1 January 2027. It applies to property that is not zoned exclusively for single-family residences.
- Does AB 356 apply to a single-family home?
- No. Property zoned exclusively for single-family residences is exempt. The law reaches HOA and common-interest community common areas, commercial and retail property, multifamily and apartment complexes, office and industrial parks, churches and government property.
- What counts as nonfunctional grass?
- Irrigated grass that provides no functional use — decorative turf in streetscapes, street frontage, medians, courtyards, parking islands, entry features and the strips alongside buildings. Grass that gets used stays: active recreation areas, athletic fields, playgrounds, golf course play areas, special-use areas at cemeteries and mortuaries, and limited pet-relief and resident areas. Functional grass also has to sit at least ten feet from a street, on a slope under twenty-five percent, and outside medians and streetscapes. Waivers exist, and they are applied for, not assumed.
- What happens to a property that misses the deadline?
- The Las Vegas Valley Water District has proposed per-violation water-waste fees starting 1 January 2027, scaled to meter size and escalating with each violation: $80 for a first violation rising to $1,280 for a fifth or more on meters one inch and under, $160 to $2,560 on meters over one inch and under three, and $320 to $5,120 on meters three inches and over. These are proposed, not adopted. Public comment closes at 6pm on 26 October 2026.
- How much does the SNWA rebate pay for turf conversion?
- This figure is genuinely unsettled, and anyone quoting it to you with total confidence has not checked. In the first week of October 2026, City of Henderson Utility Services listed $2 per square foot for the first 10,000 square feet per property and $1 per square foot after that; SNWA’s own AB 356 FAQ said up to $3; and SNWA’s rebate page read higher again. The calculator on this page uses the lowest of the current figures on purpose, because overstating a rebate is how a contractor ends up eating the difference. Confirm the rate that applies to your property class with SNWA before you budget from it.
- Can we remove the grass first and claim the rebate afterwards?
- No, and this is the single most expensive mistake on this whole subject. SNWA requires a pre-conversion site visit before any grass is removed. Tear it out first and the project is ineligible — the work still has to be done, the deadline still applies, and the rebate is simply gone.
- Does artificial turf qualify for the rebate?
- No. The Water Smart Landscapes rebate pays for grass replaced with drip-irrigated plants and trees. Artificial turf may deal with the watering prohibition, but it does not earn the rebate, so a property that installs it pays the full cost of the conversion itself.
- I run a landscape company. What does Caimward build for me?
- A conversion page on your own domain, written for the property manager or HOA board who has to approve you; a working rebate and fee estimator like the one on this page; a quote form that asks for square footage, meter size, property type and management company so every lead arrives already qualified; a one-page vendor packet with your licence, insurance and before-and-after work; and your Google Business Profile updated to say you do this. Quoted per business. Every account stays registered in your name.
- I manage the property. How do I check a contractor is real?
- Four things, in this order: an active Nevada C-10 landscape contractor licence, verified on the State Contractors Board site rather than taken on trust; current general liability and workers’ compensation certificates naming your property; listing as an SNWA Water Smart Landscaper, which is what proves they have been through the rebate process before; and three before-and-after conversions you can actually go and look at. Then ask for the response time in writing.
Something here wrong or out of date? Tell us and we will fix it and say when we did.
Sources and dates
Where every number came from.
- The law and the deadline: Nevada AB 356 (2021); SNWA’s AB 356 nonfunctional grass FAQ, revision marked 15 August 2024; City of Henderson Utility Services nonfunctional grass guidance. Read 7 October 2026.
- The proposed fees: Las Vegas Valley Water District notice of proposed changes to its service rules and the accompanying business impact statement. Read 7 October 2026. Comment closes 6pm, 26 October 2026.
- The rebate rate used in the estimator: $2 per sq ft for the first 10,000 sq ft and $1 per sq ft thereafter, per City of Henderson Utility Services, read 7 October 2026. Other current sources published higher figures; we use the lowest deliberately. Confirm the rate at snwa.com for your property class before budgeting.
Caimward is a website and marketing company, not a law firm, a landscape contractor or a water authority. Nothing on this page is legal advice, and SNWA alone decides rebate eligibility and amounts.
Page last reviewed 7 October 2026.