Grass Grows Rain, Cools Utah, Lowers Oceans, Fills Aquifers!

Grass Grows Rain, Cools Utah, Lowers Oceans, Fills Aquifers!

Utahns, imagine a greener state with more rain, fuller aquifers, and even a small step toward taming rising ocean levels—all by planting grass and plants! In our dry desert home, where we get just 13 inches of rain a year, grass is a superhero for our water cycle. Through photosynthesis, evapotranspiration (ET), and fast residence times, grass and plants pump water, cool the air, and reshape our landscape. Let’s explore how they can help lower ocean levels, boost aquifer levels, and why this matters more than ever in Utah. Join the Flowscaping movement—plant grass, cover bare ground, and ditch xeriscaping to make our state thrive!

Grass Grows Rain, Cools Utah, Lowers Oceans, Fills Aquifers!

How Grass and Plants Work Their Magic

Grass, like Kentucky bluegrass, and other plants are nature’s water and carbon managers. Here’s how they transform Utah’s landscape and water cycle:

Photosynthesis: Cleaning the Air, Storing Carbon

• What It Does: Grass and plants use sunlight, water, and carbon dioxide (CO₂) to grow, releasing oxygen. This process pulls CO₂ from the air, storing it in roots and soil.

• Why It Matters: In Utah, 600,000 acres of grass can sequester ~702,000 tons of CO₂ yearly, worth $70 million in carbon credits. By reducing CO₂, a greenhouse gas, grass helps slow global warming, which drives glacier melt and ocean rise (3.7 mm/year globally).

• Big Picture: Less CO₂ means less ice melt, keeping water out of oceans and available for land, like Utah’s aquifers.

Evapotranspiration (ET): Pumping Water, Making Rain

• What It Does: Grass pulls water from soil and releases it as vapor through leaves, cooling the air. It cycles 3-5 mm/day (21-36 inches over Utah’s growing season, April-September), far more than native plants (1-2 mm/day, 5-15 inches/year) or bare ground (0.5-1 mm/day).

• Why It Matters: For 600,000 acres, grass produces 324,000-540,000 acre-feet/year of vapor, with 40% (129,600-216,000 acre-feet) fueling Utah’s rain. This boosts rainfall 2-5% short-term (0.2-0.6 inches) and 7-25% long-term (0.9-3.2 inches by 2075). Grass’s cooling (3-15°F) keeps clouds forming locally, unlike hot gravel (5-10°F warmer).

• Utah Impact: Our rain relies on ET for 40%—way more than wet states like California (20-30%) or Florida (10-15%). Grass keeps water cycling fast, bringing showers back home.

Residence Times: Keeping Water Active

• What It Means: Residence time is how long water stays in one place. Grass cycles 70-90% of water in 24-48 hours, returning it to the air for rain in 7-8 days. Compare that to:

  • Aquifers: 50-1,000 years, with only 10-20% of Utah’s 1.5M acre-feet/year recharge returning yearly.

  • Great Salt Lake: 5-10 years, with just 5-10% of 1.5M acre-feet/year evaporation raining back locally (75,000-150,000 acre-feet).

  • Runoff to Drains: Days to weeks, then 5-10 years in lakes, losing 42,000-84,000 acre-feet/year of rain potential from 600,000 acres.

• Why It Matters: Grass’s fast cycling avoids slow sinks, keeping water active for rain and aquifer recharge, unlike xeriscaping’s sluggish natives (7-30 days) or gravel (none).

Grass Grows Rain, Cools Utah, Lowers Oceans, Fills Aquifers!

Lowering Ocean Levels with Grass

Rising oceans (3.7 mm/year) come from melting glaciers (~1.8 mm/year), warming water (~1.5 mm/year), and groundwater pumping (~0.4 mm/year). Grass and plants help slow this:

• Carbon Sequestration: By storing 702,000 tons of CO₂/year, 600,000 acres of grass reduce global warming, slowing glacier melt. If scaled globally, vegetation could cut sea level rise by ~0.1-0.2 mm/year, keeping water out of oceans.

• Moisture Feedback: Grass’s ET (324,000-540,000 acre-feet/year) raises Utah’s humidity, pulling ~5-10% more Pacific Ocean moisture inland. This extra rain (0.9-3.2 inches/year) stays on land, not adding to ocean volume.

• Groundwater Retention: Grass cuts runoff 20-30%, boosting aquifer recharge 10-20%. This keeps pumped groundwater (0.4 mm/year to oceans) in Utah, reducing ocean inputs.

While Utah’s efforts alone won’t reverse global sea level rise, every acre of grass helps by locking carbon, cycling water to land, and slowing groundwater loss to seas.

Filling Utah’s Aquifers

Utah’s aquifers are depleting 1-2% yearly, but grass and plants can help refill them:

• More Rain: Grass’s 7-25% rainfall boost (0.9-3.2 inches) adds 129,600-216,000 acre-feet/year for 600,000 acres, with 10-20% (12,960-43,200 acre-feet) infiltrating to aquifers.

• Better Infiltration: Grass’s roots hold soil, reducing runoff 20-30% and increasing recharge 10-20% vs. gravel’s 10-15% runoff loss. This channels rain—60% from oceanic moisture—into groundwater.

• Ocean Connection: Grass’s ET draws Pacific vapor inland, cooling the air, boosting rain that recharges aquifers. For 600,000 acres, this could add ~7,776-25,920 acre-feet/year of ocean-sourced water (60% of 12,960-43,200).

Unlike slow-cycling natives or bare ground, grass ensures more water stays local, refilling aquifers for farms and cities.

Why This Matters to Utah’s Landscape

In Utah’s dry climate (13 inches/year), grass is a game-changer:

• Rainfall Boost: Unlike California’s coastal storms or Florida’s 50 inches, Utah’s 40% ET-driven rain makes grass critical. Adding 1-3 inches (7-23%) transforms water security.

• Cooler Cities: Grass’s 3-15°F cooling fights urban heat (5-10°F hotter), keeping clouds local increasing condensation, and saving $50-100/household in cooling costs.

• Healthy Soil: Grass reduces erosion (20-30% less runoff) and sequesters carbon, keeping our landscape fertile.

• Drought Defense: Grass requires 0.5-1.5 inches/month to stay green, while cycling 100% of water back into the atmosphere increasing local rainflow.

The Xeriscaping Problem

Since 1981, xeriscaping’s gravel and low-ET natives (20-30% of Utah lawns) cut ET from 324,000 to ~162,000 acre-feet/year for 600,000 acres, reducing rain 1-3% yearly (5.7-17.2 inches by 2025). This heats our air, slows water cycling (7-30 days), and increases runoff, hurting aquifers. Flowscaping with grass reverses this, growing rain and groundwater while cooling the atmosphere and increasing condensation.

Your Call to Action

Utahns, let’s green our state and save our water! Here’s how:

• Plant Grass: Cover yards, parks, and bare spots with grass like Kentucky bluegrass. Every blade pumps water and cools Utah.

• Add Plants: Mix in clover, flowers, or trees to boost ET and carbon storage.

• Ditch Xeriscaping: Swap gravel for Flowscaping to bring back rain and fill aquifers.

• Cover Bare Ground: No dirt left behind—plant to keep water cycling fast.

• Join the Movement: Support Utah’s Flowscaping laws and tell friends to go green!

Let’s Make Utah Bloom!

Grass and plants are Utah’s key to lowering ocean levels and filling aquifers. Through photosynthesis, they store carbon, reduce pollution, slow sea rise and increase aquifer levels. Through ET, they pump 324,000-540,000 acre-feet/year to grow 7-25% more rain. With fast residence times, they keep water out of slow sinks like oceans (3,000 years) or lakes (5-10 years). By Flowscaping our landscape, we’ll bring rain, recharge aquifers, and build a lush, resilient Utah. Grab a shovel, plant some grass, and let’s grow our future together! Grass Grows Rain, Cools Utah, Lowers Oceans, Fills Aquifers!🌱💧