Last January, as the Texas drought wore on, an Austin-area homeowners association called the Woods of Brushy Creek made a big change to its landscaping policies. No longer would homeowners be required to have grass covering the entire front yard. Instead, they could request permission to cover most of the yard with drought-resistant plants, a technique known as xeriscaping.

“You can see the writing on the wall, that there are so many people moving [to Texas] and there is only going to be so much water,” said Debra Johnson, who works for Goodwin Management and serves as the association’s ...

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