Long Beach Will Pay You to Remove Your Lawn

The Long Beach Water Department will pay you to remove your lawn! Beginning April 7th, residents can apply for a rebate of $2.50 per square foot up to a maximum of $2,500 for replacing their lawn with drought tolerant plants. Funds are limited and applications will be taken on a first come first served basis. ABC 7 did a report on the new program known as “The Beautiful Long Beach Lawn to Garden Incentive Program” (see video below).

Things You Should Know:

• Only the property owner is eligible to apply for the program
• Both residents and local business are eligible as long as they are LBWD customers
• Only the front yard and parkway are eligible; the side and back yard are excluded from the program
• Must submit a simple hand drawn plan and attend an on-line landscape class within 45 days of application approval
• After renovation the new landscape must be maintained and not altered significantly from the original design
• LBWD has $250,000 on hand for the program; approximately 100 residents will receive the full rebate of $2,500
• Your new landscape cannot contain any turf grass, or artificial or synthetic turf
• Your new landscape must be 100% covered with materials such as plants, compost and mulch, and permeable “hardscape
• Plant material must cover at least 65% of the new landscaped area by the time the plants are mature, or after approximately two years

Most importantly (at least from our perspective), the irrigation system, if there is one, MUST be water efficient. Examples of water-efficient irrigation systems include:

• Drip irrigation
• Bubblers for shrubs and trees
• Rotating sprinklers rated at emitting less than one gallon of water per minute
• Pressure regulators, allowing no more pressure than recommended by the manufacturer of the drip system (usually about 10 to 15 psi) or the rotating sprinklers (usually about 35 psi)
• Separate valves for each part of the landscape (known as ‘hydrozones’) that needs a different watering schedule

If you need help installing, making repairs or upgrading your irrigation system, contact LAsprinklerrepair.com by phone at (800) 339-2102 or by email at info @ wcgminc.com. For more information on the “The Beautiful Long Beach Lawn to Garden Incentive Program” visit their website here lblawntogarden.com. Also view the LBWD’s March 30th press release here Long Beach Water Department Unveils Citywide Landscape Rebate Program.