LAS VEGAS, Nevada, July 25, 2007 (ENS) - Golf courses in arid Southern Nevada are saving a billion gallons of water each year by replacing thirsty grass with water-efficient landscaping. The Southern Nevada Water Authority calculates that since 2001, Las Vegas area courses have contributed to this saving by converting 425 acres from grass to water-smart landscaped courses.

Eleven courses in Southern Nevada are now in the midst of landscape conversions - among them, Red Rock Country Club has converted more than a million square feet this year alone at its Arroyo and Mountain courses.

Spanish Trail Golf and Country Club is undergoing a major overhaul of the entire course, including turf removal, reshaping and improving ponds and moving irrigation lines, said superintendent Jon Valentine.

The City of Henderson has launched major landscape conversions at its municipal Wild Horse Golf Course, while the Angel Park Golf Club is in the midst of a 70 acre conversion scheduled for completion in 2008, said superintendent Bill Rohret. So far, he said, players are giving the changes "rave reviews."

Southern Nevada gets nearly 90 percent of its water from the Colorado River. Every drop is precious now, as the Colorado River system is facing the worst drought on record.

The Southern Nevada Water Authority credits community cooperation with drought restrictions and water-efficiency programs for the drop of 18 billion gallons in water consumption between 2002 and 2006, despite the fact that 330,000 new residents moved into the area and 40 million people visit each year.

The Water Authority credits golf courses for their many water conservation measures. All 43 local golf courses have on-site weather stations linked to their irrigations systems by computers that enable each course to base their irrigation schedules on daily weather conditions.

These systems monitor the moisture given off by grasses and plants, so water is applied only as needed.

Current drought restrictions subject local golf courses to water budgets, restricting them to 6.3 acre-feet of water per acre. An acre-foot equals about 326,000 gallons.

Even the lush Bali Hai Golf Club in Las Vegas, with its seven acres of water features, 4,000 trees and 100,000 tropical plants, is on a water budget.

Golf course water budgets are based upon acre-feet of water for each acre irrigated, including lakes and ponds that exist within a golf course and those serving as a golf course irrigation reservoirs.

Once measured, the irrigated acreage remains fixed, creating an incentive for golf courses to convert unneeded turf to other styles of water-efficient landscaping.

Golf courses must pay financial penalties for any water used over budgeted amounts.

"Golf courses are the most judicious business about the way they use water," said Valentine at Spanish Trail. "We don't just set a timer and walk away. Water conservation is one of the biggest parts of what we do every day."