MWD’s turf removal rebates ending; Burbank Water and Power program continues
A little more than a month since it poured an additional $350 million into its turf removal rebate program, Metropolitan Water District officials announced the closing of the program to new applications this week.
“We knew that the popularity of the turf program would exhaust the available funds at some point, but even we didn’t predict just how popular turf rebates would become,” said Jeffrey Kightlinger, general manager of the water district, in the announcement.
The program provides rebates of $2 per square foot of living turf that residents remove from their lawns, with a limit of 3,000 square feet. It was enacted in late May when the water district board approved a measure that expanded the program’s budget from $100 million to $450 million, following Gov. Jerry Brown’s executive order on April 1, mandating 25% reductions in urban water use statewide.
However, while the regional rebates are ending, Burbank Water and Power will continue to provide $1-per-square-foot rebates for local residents who opt to remove thirsty turf and replace it with native, drought-friendly vegetation or artificial grass, the utility’s marketing manager Jeanette Meyer said on Wednesday.
Burbank is required to reduce water consumption in the city between June and February by 28%, or one billion gallons, compared to its consumption during those months in 2013. The utility recently stepped up enforcement of rules limiting outdoor watering and is alerting customers of likely leaks in their pipes.
Additionally, the utility recently tweaked its rebate programs to encourage more conservation, such as doubling rebates to residents for purchasing eligible clothes washers, dishwashers and pool pumps, while increasing rebates for air conditioning units by $20 per ton of capacity.
The Metropolitan Water District’s turf-rebate program has been sucked dry by the “extremely high interest throughout Southern California,” according to the agency’s announcement, and all funds have been allotted to completed projects or approved projects that have yet to be completed.
The utility estimates that more than 150 million square feet of turf will be removed as a result of the program, three times the statewide goal Brown set for replacement of lawns and ornamental turf with drought-tolerant landscapes in response to the historic drought.
“We truly believe this campaign helped push the tipping point to shift the cultural norm away from lawns,” Kightlinger said. “This rebate program was intended to stimulate interest in turf removal to the point that government incentives were not necessary for the long term.”
Kightlinger said customers can still also get Metropolitan Water District rebates for devices such as high-efficiency clothes washers, water-saving toilets, weather-based irrigation controllers and rotating sprinkler nozzles.
Metropolitan Water District staff members are expected to present an update on the rebate programs at the district’s next scheduled committee and board meetings on Monday and Tuesday.
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Chad Garland, chad.garland@latimes.com
Twitter: @chadgarland
