Landscape Program

[Quincey Homer]

Thisprogram is designed to encourage residents and businesses to convert approved high-water use landscape, such as lawns and pools, to low-water use landscape, as well as to retrofit existing irrigation equipment with approved high-efficiency irrigation equipment.

Current program funding lasts until June 30, 2025 or until depleted. Applications will be accepted and evaluated on an ongoing basis in the order received as long as funds remain available.

You can apply for incentives you are interested in now, and reapply in the future for new incentives and projects until you reach the rebate cap. Apply using the Online Application Portal and track projects. Review the overview to learn about rebate steps and rates.

Commercial, institutional, industrial, and multi-family residential (5+ units) properties are encouraged to convert approved high-water use lawns to low-water-use landscapes. The current base rate for this incentive is $1/square foot. This is a lower rate than the Lawn Conversion Rebate.

Do you want help saving rainwater for later? If you have an existing gutter or downspout system not currently capturing rainwater, Valley Water will help you install rain barrels, cisterns, and rain gardens.

Sites that have been denied participation in the Landscape Rebate Program for not meeting the initial program eligibility requirements will not be allowed to re-apply for the rebate within three (3) years of the initial pre-inspection or denial date, whichever is the latter.

Instead of a rebate, Lawn Busters provides subsidized on-site assessments and landscape design, planting, and quality-assurance follow up. This program is available to qualifying homeowners who are 60 years or older, low-income, have disabilities, or United States veterans.

Lawn Busters is a partnership between Our City Forest and Valley Water to help property owners convert their lawns into drought-tolerant dreamscapes. For additional information, or to apply, email [email protected].

This new program is focused on restoring and enhancing diverse native habitat on conservation lands and natural areas strategically located across Minnesota to address declining pollinators and other beneficial insects. Dramatic declines of bees, butterflies, dragonflies, fireflies and other beneficial insects that support our ecosystems and food systems have been raising significant alarm among scientists and conservation professionals both locally and globally. This program fills a need for a state grant program focused on establishing targeted, high diversity pollinator and beneficial habitat on conservation lands and natural areas. The program is focused on establishing high diversity pollinator plots and/or enhancing the habitat value of riparian areas, prairies, savannas, wetlands or forests. The program is also part of efforts to update state seed mixes to maximize diversity levels, refine restoration methods and identifying lands that are a high priority for restoration.

Eligible applicants include Conservation Districts, Watershed Districts, Watershed Management Organizations, Municipalities, Contractors, Nongovernmental Organizations, Tribal Governments, Counties, Local Government Joint Power Boards, and Park Districts. Partnerships with other organizations and combining other state and federal funding sources is encouraged.

An Action Plan Template for Pollinator Habitat Projects is available for projects. This template is a Google Document and has been designed as a new format for projects partners to collaborate on planning to maximize benefits for pollinators and other beneficial insects.

BWSR agency programs that assist landowners and local government have resulted in less sediment and nutrients entering our lakes, rivers, and streams; more fish and wildlife habitat; and the drastic slowing of wetland losses.

Austin Water offers rebates for each of these tools through the WaterWise Landscape Rebate Program to decrease outdoor irrigation. Residents can fill out an online application form and send site plan measurements and photos of their current grass conditions. After removing the existing grass and planting new ones, final photos and receipts can be submitted to Austin Water. Residents will be reimbursed $1 per square foot up to $3,000.

In addition to receiving a rebate for the cost of switching to WaterWise Landscape, customers can also save on their monthly water bills. Typically, turf grass needs 1 inch of water weekly in summer, while mature native beds may require only to inch every other week. For instance, converting a 500-square-foot turf area, which requires 1,240 gallons monthly, to a WaterWise landscape could save up to 930 gallons monthly, leading to significant savings.

Austin Water has published an online comprehensive Residential Conservation Rebates guide, in English and Spanish. This guide highlights the WaterWise Landscape program, and other initiatives that support water conservation efforts in our community. The Watershed Protection Department's Grow Green materials, which provide valuable information about native, drought-tolerant plants and the maintenance of sustainable landscapes, are also accessible online.

Sentinel landscapes are areas where conservation, working lands, and national defense interests converge. They are anchored by at least one high-value military installation or range and contain high priority lands for USDA, DOD, and DOI.

We promote land use around military installations, ranges, and operating spaces that is compatible with national defense and alleviates regulatory restrictions that may inhibit military operations. This enhances the military's ability to carry out testing, training, and operational activities necessary to prepare the warfighter for real-world combat.

We restore, enhance, and manage natural resources at the landscape scale by bringing together federal agencies, state and local governments, non-governmental organizations, landowners, and other land managers to address critical issues such as wildfire, water quantity and quality, wildlife habitat connectivity, and ecosystem resilience to climate change.

Recognizing the importance of strong agricultural economies, we support farmers, ranchers, and foresters in meeting their production goals while simultaneously advancing sustainable land management practices that improve water, air, and soil quality.

Preserving natural resources and open space stimulates local economic activity through creating opportunities for communities to enjoy the outdoors. We strive to increase public access to outdoor recreational activities such as hunting, fishing, and hiking.

As the impacts of climate change increasingly jeopardize the protection of natural resources, working lands, and national defense, we support the implementation of locally-driven and nature-based climate resilience efforts. This includes actions to protect against wildfire, extreme weather, drought, and sea level rise.

The purpose of the Ecological Zones and Native Planting List is to guide HDOT landscape architects, engineers, and contractors in selecting appropriate native Hawaiian plant species for Highway right-of-way projects.

Please note: After your application is completed, you must participate in a pre-conversion site visit. Removing your lawn without our approval will make your conversion ineligible. Rebate applications tend to increase in the spring and fall, which can increase wait times for site visits. Please account for this in your project planning.

Take advantage of the Water Smart Landscapes rebate to convert water-thirsty grass to desert landscaping and receive $3 per square foot of grass removed and replaced with desert landscaping up to the first 10,000 square feet converted, and $1.50 per square foot thereafter per property.

NOTE: Beginning Jan. 1, 2025, the Water Smart Landscapes Program rebate for non-functional grass conversions will decrease from $3 per square foot to $2 per square foot for the first 10,000 square feet, and $1 per square foot thereafter. View the program conditions for more information. The rebate will remain the same for functional grass conversions. View the definitions of functional and non-functional grass.

Smart business owners will quickly realize that converting to a water-smart landscape makes good business sense. A savings of 825,000 gallons of water per year is projected for the average 15,000 square-foot conversion to water-smart landscaping.

After your application is submitted, we will visit the property to determine whether it meets eligibility requirements, including having live grass and an active irrigation system, and we will measure the proposed conversion areas.

For business, HOA and multifamily properties, if the conversion area is greater than -acre in size (10,890 square feet), you must secure written approval from the local jurisdiction's planning department as a condition of eligibility. Email approval is sufficient, and we will make the planning department aware of your pending request so they know to expect it.

Notify us when you've completed your conversion. We will inspect the landscape (usually within 10 business days) to ensure it meets program conditions including a drip irrigation system, proper canopy coverage, etc. We'll also verify the area eligible for the rebate, in case the size differs from what was described at the beginning of the process.

The easement is intended to prevent you from reinstalling grass, converting the area to a swimming pool, etc. and commits you to either maintaining the conversion in perpetuity or reimbursing the SNWA the full amount of the incentive plus administrative fees.

B. Customer eligibility: Areas to be converted must use water from an Authority water agency or groundwater well within the Las Vegas Valley Groundwater Basin. Applicant's water and/or groundwater account(s) must be in good standing.

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