WaterSmart Residential Lawn Conversion
Lawn conversion saves you time and money while conserving water and benefiting the environment. You may be eligible for a rebate of $0.50 per square foot when converting your lawn to a sustainable landscape. Sheet mulching only (removing the lawn without planting) may qualify for a rebate of $0.25 per square foot. The maximum rebate is $500 per eligible water service account. This offer is good for applications received January 1, 2012 through June 30, 2012 (subject to availability of funds).
How to Participate
- Carefully measure the lawn area you want to convert and fill out and submit an application.
- EBMUD will call you to schedule an appointment for a pre-conversion inspection.
- Meet with an EBMUD representative for the pre-conversion inspection.
- Complete the project and notify EBMUD that your project is complete within six months of the pre-conversion inspection.
- Schedule a post-inspection site visit with EBMUD.
- Rebates are issued as credits on your EBMUD water service account.
Program Qualifications
- All projects must be approved prior to lawn removal and replacement. EBMUD pre- and post-conversion inspections are required.
- Customers must convert a minimum of 250 square feet of lawn.
- Landscaped area beyond the lawn will not be included in the rebate.
- The site must be served by an EBMUD residential water service account. The lawn being converted must be irrigated with EBMUD water and have been maintained for the last 18 months. If you reduced lawn watering in response to the 2008-09 EBMUD water emergency, prior water use history will be considered.
- If applicant is not the property owner, written permission of the owner is required.
- Customers who participated in the Lawn Conversion Program within the past 12 months are not eligible.
- Only one rebate will be paid per each square foot of lawn converted or sheet mulched.
Qualifying Landscape Conversions
- California native or climate-appropriate plants that require little or no supplemental irrigation. Plants featured in EBMUD plant book Plants and Landscapes for Summer-Dry Climates qualify, as well as other climate-appropriate plants.
- Permeable hardscape such as pavers, bricks, or flagstone set in sand, gravel, or decomposed granite that allows water to pass through or be absorbed by the landscape.
- If the converted area is irrigated, only drip systems are allowed.
- All planted areas must have at least a three-inch layer of mulch.
- Sheet mulching must be at least four inches in depth.
Non-Qualifying Landscape Conversions
- Plant material that requires regular supplemental irrigation and is not adapted to a summer-dry climate (see list below).
- Artificial turf installations.
- Non-biodegradable weed-block material.
- Exposed soil surfaces (exceptions can be made for enhancing insect habitat).
- Overhead spray/sprinkler systems.
- Impermeable surfaces such as concrete, bricks and flagstone mortared into place.
Sheet Mulching
Sheet mulching is a layered mulch system, a simple and underutilized technique for optimizing the benefits of mulch and nurturing the soil.
For more information on the basics of sheet mulching refer to the document below, a PDF file which can be viewed and printed with Adobe Acrobat Reader, a free software.
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Lawn Conversion
An EBMUD customer in Danville converted their lawn to a beautiful native plant garden which was featured in a local newspaper. This lawn conversion was completed in 2010 using local resources and as the article shows, "converting your lawn through the EBMUD program is relatively painless". To read more click here.
Resources
See the links below for useful publications, websites and demonstration garden locations, and additional information about sheet mulching.
Brochure and Application
The Lawn Conversion Rebate Program brochure and application are PDF files that can be viewed and printed with Adobe Acrobat Reader, a free software.
For more information, please e-mail custsvc@ebmud.com or call 1-866-40-EBMUD (403-2683).