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The Healthy Green Spaces Coalition is powered by the National Association of Landscape Professionals.
Lead Partners
Supporting Partners
“Beyond basic irrigation system repairs, complexity becomes a barrier for many homeowners. Even changing a sprinkler head can mean figuring out which parts are needed based on system design, having the right tools, and understanding whether the repair will actually solve the problem. It makes sense that people are willing to repair and upgrade their system but haven’t yet taken action.”
Use the survey results to segment homeowners based on behavior barriers, HOA status, and age.
Where to Focus: Matching the Lever to the Barrier
The clearest opportunity appears in the lower-cost irrigation behaviors. Homeowners show solid willingness to do more routine maintenance (31%) and active scheduling (44%), and 68% and 67%, respectively, say access to a certified specialist would make them more likely to act. Their biggest obstacle is not overwhelmingly price. For maintenance, complexity (42.9% top-two) nearly matches money (45.0%), and for scheduling, complexity (43.6%) actually exceeds money (40.5%). That suggests these activities may be especially responsive to instruction, diagnosis, and hands-on guidance rather than financial incentives alone.
Irrigation system upgrades also have strong demand, but cost remains a more substantial hurdle. About 51% are willing to make upgrades and 69% say specialist help would increase their likelihood of acting, the strongest specialist response in the survey. But money is the leading top-two barrier at 50.3%, compared with 44.4% for complexity. In other words, specialists may help convert interest across all three irrigation activities, but maintenance and scheduling may represent the lowest-friction opportunities, while upgrades are more likely to require both expert support and help overcoming the upfront cost.
A specialist removes complexity and physical effort, not cost. On irrigation work that is what 72% of homeowners name, and 68% say a specialist would move them.
MoneyComplexityPhysical effortTime and habit
Barrier ranked in top 2WillingSpecialist
Tier 1 — Knowledge-ledInstruction and done-for-you labor
Routine maintenance45.042.939.073.031%68%
Active scheduling40.543.640.775.244%67%
Complexity is within 2 points of money on maintenance and ahead of it on scheduling. Neither activity requires a purchase.
Tier 2 — Cost-perceivedDone-for-you labor, cost education and rebates
System upgrades50.344.442.562.851%69%
Money leads complexity by 5.9 points. Largest willing audience and highest specialist demand in the study.
Tier 3 — Cost- and labor-ledSubsidy plus done-for-you labor
Partial landscape change50.442.146.261.352%66%
Full grass removal43.940.753.462.036%59%
Landscape redesign50.941.446.661.153%63%
On grass removal, physical effort reaches 53.4%, the single highest top-two figure anywhere in the survey.
Each respondent placed two of five barriers in their top two, so every row totals 200% and bar width is scaled accordingly. Time and habit are combined into one segment; hover any segment for its value. Willing = doing some and want to do more, plus not doing but willing to start. Specialist = much or somewhat more likely to act with a certified irrigation specialist. Tier boundaries are set by first-place rankings, where the money-to-complexity ratio breaks at 1.02–1.04, 1.57, and 1.69–2.01; on top-two rankings that ratio compresses to 0.93–1.23 with no clean break.
Source: Healthy Green Spaces Coalition, 2026 Residential Outdoor Water Barriers Survey.
The Intervention Depends on the Action
One program will not work for every homeowner. The best programs match the help to the project, the person’s main concern, and the amount of support they need.
A homeowner who wants to redesign a yard but cannot afford it may need a rebate or payment plan. Someone who wants to remove grass but cannot do the physical work may need a contractor or installation crew. A homeowner who finds irrigation scheduling confusing may need a short guide, a system check, or help setting a controller.
HOA communities may also need special support, such as approved yard designs, trusted providers, and guidance for HOA boards. Non-HOA homeowners may benefit more from flexible project choices, direct rebates, and DIY support.
Water Efficiency Intervention Planner
Leading barrierMoneyComplexityPhysical effortTimeHabit