Money collected from watering fines is funding the Tampa Water Department\u2019s first Florida-Friendly Landscaping Incentive Program and one year since its launch, participating homeowners are enjoying significant savings in their water bills.<\/p>\n
Tuesday morning department officials will be delivering a rebate check to one of the program\u2019s first participants. Tampa resident Chris Kern is receiving a $1,654.51 rebate check for converting a portion of his lawn from traditional turfgrass to Florida-Friendly Landscaping\u2122. The dollar-for-dollar matching rebate helps offset the cost of labor and plants associated with the project.<\/p>\n
The incentive program is funded by money collected from water restriction violation fines. Tampa has year-round watering restrictions, with additional limitations in place during periods of drought. Using violation fees to fund the program helps reinvest those dollars into efforts that encourage more water-efficient landscapes. In the case of many Florida homeowners, irrigation accounts for 50% of their water use.<\/p>\n
“We all understand the importance of making the most of our drinking water. Programs like this help our community see that they can have attractive, head-turning landscapes in front of their homes while still being water efficient,” said Tampa Water Department Director Rory Jones.<\/p>\n
Through the program, eligible customers can receive these rebates after completing three educational workshops, having their landscape design approved, and passing a final evaluation once the project is complete. As of today, 25 Tampa participants are in the process of converting portions of their lawns to Florida-Friendly Landscaping\u2122 and 12 have completed their projects.<\/p>\n
The program was launched in coordination with Hillsborough County Water Resources and UF\/IFAS Extension, Hillsborough County. Plans are underway to continue the program and help additional Tampa residents create attractive, sustainable landscapes that use less water.<\/p>\n
The Florida-Friendly Landscaping\u2122 (FFL) Program was designed to help residents and business owners create and maintain beautiful yards using research-based, environmentally sustainable landscaping practices. By reducing the amount of traditional turfgrass and incorporating appropriate plants, residents can create landscapes that require less irrigation while supporting a healthier, sustainable environment.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Money collected from watering fines is funding the Tampa Water Department\u2019s first Florida-Friendly Landscaping Incentive Program and one…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":426568,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[135,137,136],"class_list":["post-426567","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-tampa","tag-tampa","tag-tampa-headlines","tag-tampa-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/426567","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=426567"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/426567\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/426568"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=426567"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=426567"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=426567"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}