As of April 1, the popular turf replacement rebate from the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California has been doubled from $1 to $2 per square foot of lawn removed. As a member agency of Metropolitan, the West Basin Municipal Water District qualifies for this program and encourages residents and businesses within its service area to apply for the increased rebate at www.bewaterwise.com where up to $50 million in applications will be accepted annually.
“Over the past year, we have taught hundreds of residents how to remove their turf and transform their landscapes into water-efficient, sustainable gardens through our landscape transformation class series,” said West Basin Board President Scott Houston. “With larger turf replacement rebates now available, we are hopeful the additional cash incentive will inspire more homeowners, local governments and businesses to take the next step and replace their lawns, street medians and ornamental turf with beautiful, drought-tolerant landscapes across our service area.”
West Basin will also return this summer with its popular series of free classes for District residents and businesses to learn how to transform their landscapes into drought-tolerant gardens and take advantage of the updated Metropolitan rebate program. Visit www.westbasin.org for more information.
In addition to doubling the amount of the turf removal rebate, Metropolitan has made other changes to the turf replacement program, including:
• Increasing the eligible area from 1,500 to 5,000 square feet for residential landscapes; and from 10,000 to 50,000 square feet for commercial, institutional and industrial sites, allowing larger properties, such as schools and parks, to participate.
• Eliminating the requirement that program participants must first remove turf from their front yard.
• Decreasing the number of replacement plants required for areas where grass has been removed from five to three plants per 100 square feet.
The rebate program rules also require a landscape plan, a watershed approach, efficient irrigation and mulch coverage. Synthetic turf is not eligible for the program.
More information about the turf replacement program, water-efficient landscaping, and other water-saving rebate programs is available at Metropolitan’s online portal www.bewaterwise.com.
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