Like homeowners across the state, University of Utah planners and landscapers spend each summer assessing how to reduce water use on campus.

That means replacing Kentucky bluegrass and fescue with native and low-water plants, mulch and rocks. It’s an expensive, time-consuming process, facilities managers say, but worth it in the long-term effort to make the 1,500-acre campus more water-wise and resilient to hot, dry summers. 

“These efforts are a key component of our university’s campus master planning efforts,” Chief Operating Officer Jeff Labrum told members of the Board of Trustees at their June 10 meeting. “There is much to do, and we are headed in the right direction.” 

Typically, such landscaping projects take one of two forms—new work around a building under construction, or reimagining landscaping in an existing part of campus. Upcoming projects include converting grass around the Student Life Center, the Kennecott Building (14,000 square feet), and the Student Services Building (27,183 square feet).  

A Utah law passed in 2022 requires state agencies to decrease water use by 25% this year. New xeriscaping, smart outdoor watering systems and water-wise fixtures in buildings have reduced water use on campus.

Last year, crews completed replacing turf with low-water landscaping at the outside perimeter of campus on Guardsman Way and around the Eccles Broadcast Center. Construction conversions in 2024 also reduced water use in the 100,000-square-foot berm along North Campus Drive, saving 31%, or 1.5 million gallons, in the landscaping around the Merrill Engineering parking lot. The Guardsman Way project cut water use by 24% after irrigation upgrades. Overall in 2025, the university removed approximately 50,000 square feet of water-intensive turf.  

In addition to 1,500 acres of buildings, parking lots and landscaping, the university is home to 12,000 trees. In 1961, the university was designated as the State Arboretum and includes over 300 varieties of trees. Facilities managers say that responsibility makes wholesale removal of turf and older sprinkling systems complicated. During the hottest weeks of the summer, crews may hand water campus trees as summer water conservation efforts are implemented. 

The university reports its water usage to the Utah Division of Water Resources annually. The campus uses approximately 1.3 million cubic feet of water annually and 30% of that is used outdoors. Among state water users, the U consumes just 2% of non-agricultural water.

To learn more about the university’s efforts to be water-wise, check out the campus irrigation website.