Open methodology. Public sources. No black-box claims.
The Plant Institute Inc. publishes the inputs to every claim it makes. Our reduction-target ranges, climate normals, urban-heat references, soil and canopy assumptions, and rebate program details all come from public, citable sources. This page lists them — along with the active research programs currently underway at the Institute.
Methodology, published openly.
The public sources that underpin our claims.
Every quantitative statement on the Plant Institute Inc. site traces to one of the public sources below. Where a claim depends on multiple sources, we cite each in line.
Utah Division of Water Resources
Municipal and industrial water-use reports, outdoor-use percentage by utility, per-capita benchmarks, statewide drought response.
water.utah.gov →Utah Climate Center
Daily reference evapotranspiration (ET₀), monthly temperature and precipitation anomalies — the basis for weather-normalized reduction measurement.
climate.usu.edu →USGS — Great Salt Lake
Lake elevation records, surface-area history (the source for the "more than 70% lost since 1850" figure), watershed inflow data.
usgs.gov →USBR — Colorado River Basin
Reservoir storage levels, federal allocation status, basin-wide conservation programs (USBR WaterSMART grant alignment).
usbr.gov →USU Extension
Utah State University Extension landscape, irrigation, canopy, and soil research — the most direct local-research authority for Utah residential horticulture.
extension.usu.edu →Arizona State University & US Forest Service
Urban heat island, canopy thermal effect, and urban forestry research applicable to arid-Western climates.
fs.usda.gov · ASU SoS →NASA Earth Observatory
Public satellite imagery and analysis of Great Salt Lake decline, Colorado River Basin storage, and Utah drought conditions.
earthobservatory.nasa.gov →Utah water conservancy districts
Weber Basin, Jordan Valley, Central Utah, Washington County, Salt Lake City Public Utilities — rate structures, rebate programs, restriction calendars.
Peer-reviewed canopy & turf studies
Applied horticulture and irrigation-efficiency research. Specific citations are available on request alongside our methodology documentation.
How we measure, normalize, and report a reduction.
Our reduction reporting protocol is structured to survive a third-party audit. The protocol is published; you do not need to commission a private analysis to evaluate it.
1 · Pre-installation baseline
24 months of meter data from your water district, where available. Used to establish a property-specific consumption baseline before any The Plant Institute work.
2 · Implementation log
Per-zone, per-tree, and per-controller documentation of every change applied during JLB and GreenRx work. Photographed and dated.
3 · Post-installation tracking
12 months of meter data following implementation, normalized against Utah Climate Center ET₀ anomalies for the reporting period.
4 · Weather normalization
Reductions are expressed against the temperature- and precipitation-normalized baseline — not raw before-vs-after numbers — so unusually wet or dry years do not inflate or suppress the result.
5 · Confidence interval
Reported reductions include a confidence range based on sample-size and variability of the measurement window.
6 · Public verification report
Each project receives a verification report documenting all of the above. Aggregated, anonymized data is summarized in the Annual Impact Report.
What we are currently researching.
The Institute is actively engaged in the following four research programs. Working documentation, methodology packets, and intermediate findings are available on request to journalists, grant reviewers, and partner municipalities. Contact info@plantinstitute.org.
Landscape Water Reduction Cohort Analysis
Aggregated reduction data from the active The Plant Institute cohort — methodology, sample-size handling, limitations documentation, and statewide impact scaling. Working documentation available on request.
JLB Canopy Management Protocol
Documenting the JLB canopy management protocol — structural-class definitions, sequencing logic, and post-pruning irrigation re-tuning. Protocol packet available to certification enrollees and municipal partners.
GreenRx Soil & Species Reference
The GreenRx diagnostic protocol — infiltration testing procedures, compaction and infiltration thresholds, and climate-zone planting reference. Current reference material available on request.
Municipal Pilot Reporting Framework
The full deliverable template The Plant Institute provides to municipal partners — MOU language, parcel selection methodology, meter-data handling, grantor reporting format. Provided under partnership agreement.
Get notified when each publication releases.
Why a nonprofit does this work.
The Plant Institute Inc. is a Utah nonprofit corporation and an IRS-recognized 501(c)(3) public charity (EIN 92-3514746) based in Taylorsville. Our charitable mission is to reduce urban landscape water demand, improve plant health, and increase environmental resilience by connecting research with practical, field-tested solutions. We publish our methodology openly, provide water savings forecasts at no cost, and reinvest program revenue into research and free public education.
