Mayor Garcetti announces increase in LADWP turf replacement rebate

 
11/08/2022

 [ Article originally appeared in www.lamayor.org ]

Mayor Eric Garcetti  announced the increase of the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power’s (LADWP) turf replacement rebate from $3 to $5 for residential and commercial customers. The incentive increase joins LADWP’s already extensive suite of generous rebates and programs promoting water use efficiency amid ongoing drought across the region.

“Los Angeles is one of the most water efficient cities in the world because Angelenos know how scarce and precious this resource is – and have stepped up to take advantage of the rebates and incentives we’ve put in place to reward conservation,” said Mayor Eric Garcetti. “Turf replacement is already one of the most popular and impactful tools that Angelenos use to cut back on their water use, and by nearly doubling the rebate, our City can set an even higher bar for conservation in the face of an intensifying drought.” 

To participate, LADWP customers must first receive pre-approval via the SoCal Water$mart website for their application before beginning their replacement project. Once approved, residential customers can receive $5 per square foot on projects from 250-square-feet to 5,000-square-feet, for a total maximum rebate of $25,000. Commercial customers can receive $5 per square foot on projects from 250-square-feet to 50,000-square-feet. Larger commercial turf replacement projects, ranging in size from 50,001-square-feet to 7 acres, are eligible for a $3 per square foot rebate beyond the initial $5 per square foot incentive they will receive for the first 50,000-square-feet of their project. 

Over its lifetime, LADWP’s turf replacement program has incentivized the replacement of almost 52-million-square-feet of turf. The associated water savings are equivalent to the amount of water used by more than 28,000 homes annually.

To further support customers in their transition to sustainable landscaping, LADWP also offers free services to make it easier to swap lawns for low-water-use, sustainable gardens. 

Earlier this fall, Mayor Garcetti announced the launch of the Flume pilot program – an at-home water monitoring device that can track at-home water use, detect leaks, and create a water budget for customers. The new pilot program offers a substantial discount for the purchase of Flume, a wifi-enabled device that simply attaches to a customer’s water meter and delivers usage data to a downloaded app available on a smartphone, tablet, and website browser.

Mayor Garcetti also announced that Angelenos have achieved the lowest water use for the summer months on record in the City of Los Angeles – reducing their water use by 9% in September, 10% in August, 11% in July, and 9% in June, all record-lows – and urged customers to continue to conserve in the face of prolonged shortages. Outdoor watering from three days a week to two went into effect on June 1, 2022.  

LADWP’s Water Conservation Response Unit saw an increase in water waste reports for a total of  over 3,528 reports in September. Individuals can report water waste via various channels: online at ladwp.com/waterwaste, by calling LADWP 1-800-DIAL-DWP or calling the city’s 311 hotline, or through the 311 smartphone app.

In addition to a variety of rebates and incentives, LADWP, in partnership with LA Sanitation and Environment, has reopened three local recycled water filling stations for customers to pick up free recycled, non-potable water for their landscaping needs. The three refill stations are located at the Los Angeles-Glendale Water Reclamation Plant, the LA Zoo parking lot, and Delano Park. To be eligible for the program, Angelenos must be an active LADWP customer, complete and sign an application form, and complete a brief training class available onsite. Customers have also responded with a 10-fold increase in applications for LADWP’s Turf Replacement Rebate Program, which offers $3 per square foot to replace a lawn with drought tolerant landscaping. 

Since Mayor Garcetti took office in 2013, LADWP customers have saved over 256.8 billion gallons of water – enough water to fill the LA Coliseum over 913 times, and nearly double the amount of water LADWP uses in an entire year. LADWP has invested hundreds of millions in its rebate programs, and in addition to the increases of the rebates for washing machines and toilets last year, is continuing to look for ways to expand its current programs. 

To learn more about LADWP’s turf replacement program, visit ladwp.com/landscaping. More information about conservation rebates is available at ladwp.com/save for residential customers and ladwp.com/cwr for commercial customers.

SOURCE: https://www.lamayor.org/mayor-garcetti-announces-increase-ladwp-turf-replacement-rebate



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