Any area that is being watered and is replaced with artificial turf and/or pavers is considered an area that reduces water usage. Watering real grass is expensive and accounts for 70% plus of a water bill. When you have a sprinkler system that has 8 stations running for 10 minutes each, that is 1600 gallons of water used to water in 1 day. If you water 3 days a week, then that's over 20,000 gallons of water each month just to water your grass. Cutting that water usage also cuts that water bill. Your water bill rate is always increasing over time. So you are replacing your bill with a loan payment except the loan payment is fixed and will be paid off within a period of time. Over time is when you see the savings. I am a true believer in energy efficiency and water conservation as I've not only installed many things like solar and turf on my home but could not sell something that I don't believe in.