Homeowners and businesses in Coachella, a Southern California city, now have a new financial reason to swap thirsty lawns for desert-friendly landscaping.<\/p>\n
Eligible water customers can receive up to $3,000 to remove grass and replace it with water-wise plants, turning a yard makeover into one way to reduce water use and monthly bills.<\/p>\n
What’s happening?<\/p>\n
Under the city’s Turf Removal Rebate Program, projects are reimbursed at $3 per square foot of turf removed, with payments capped at $3,000, NBC Palm Springs<\/a> reported. The rebates are being offered by the Coachella Water Authority and Sanitary District, which operates the city’s water treatment and distribution systems.<\/p>\n Eligible residential and commercial customers served by the district can use the program if they replace lawn area with water-friendly plants, but artificial turf does not qualify.<\/p>\n Customers are being advised not to remove any grass until their applications have been approved. After that approval, they have 120 days to finish the project.<\/p>\n The district said the rebate pool is limited, so applications will be processed in the order they arrive.<\/p>\n Why does it matter?<\/p>\n In a hot, dry region such as the Coachella Valley, outdoor watering can account for a large share of household water use. Traditional grass lawns can also be costly to maintain, especially during long stretches of extreme heat when irrigation demands stay high.<\/p>\n Replacing turf with climate-appropriate plants can help households use less water while reducing the mowing, fertilizing, and general upkeep a yard requires.<\/p>\n Programs like this can also help communities use local water supplies more efficiently. Even a relatively modest rebate can make a landscaping project more attainable for families or small businesses that might otherwise put off the expense.<\/p>\n And because the rebate applies to commercial customers as well, the program could have a visible impact beyond individual homes, potentially reshaping streetscapes and shared spaces across the city.<\/p>\n What can I do?<\/p>\n Before starting any lawn removal, Coachella water customers need to confirm that their property qualifies and secure application approval. Doing the work too early could jeopardize the rebate.<\/p>\n Applications can be submitted through the Resources tab at www.conservecoachella.com, according to NBC Palm Springs, and limited funding means requests are reviewed in the order they are received.<\/p>\n Only projects that use water-friendly plants meet the rebate requirement.<\/p>\n Turf replacement rebates have become an increasingly common way for cities and districts to help residents save water and offset the upfront cost of more sustainable landscaping.<\/p>\n Get TCD’s free newsletters<\/a> for easy tips, smart advice, and a chance to earn $5,000 toward home upgrades. To see more stories like this one, change your Google preferences here<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Homeowners and businesses in Coachella, a Southern California city, now have a new financial reason to swap thirsty…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":420974,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[113312,7,9,8,21495,9548,168148,168149,168147,6526,646,168146,75885],"class_list":["post-420973","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-california","tag-artificial-turf","tag-california","tag-california-headlines","tag-california-news","tag-coachella","tag-coachella-valley","tag-coachella-water-authority","tag-coachella-water-customers","tag-commercial-customers","tag-plants","tag-water","tag-water-customers","tag-water-treatment"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/420973","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=420973"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/420973\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/420974"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=420973"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=420973"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=420973"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}