Lawn areas of a landscape have the highest water demand and take the most irrigation compared to other ornamental plants in residential and commercial landscapes. Under this lawn replacement program, lawn areas anywhere in your yard can be removed and replaced with low-water landscaping to qualify for a financial incentive. This is not a rebate program, but rather an incentive to assist you in the cost of re-landscaping to be more water efficient.
Weber Basin’s Landscape Lawn Exchange program is intended to remove lawn and replace it with low-water landscape materials including plants, to create attractive, low-water alternatives to grass areas. The incentive for this program will be $2.50 per square foot for participants that live in a community that has adopted water-efficient landscape ordinances. The incentive for all other participants will be $1.25 per square foot. A list of communities that have adopted water-efficient landscape ordinances can be found at https://conservewater.utah.gov/landscape-rebates/ . The incentives for this program are for any area in your yard that is currently grass lawn that is removed and replaced with a more water-efficient alternative. Program participants will apply for the program using the MyWater website (mywaterutah.org). The application must be completed in full and District staff will review applications as they come in to approve participation in the program. Application must be approved before removing the lawn and starting the program.
Eligibility
- Project area must be a minimum of 250 square feet for participants living in a community that has adopted water-efficient landscape ordinances, or 500 square feet for all other participants. The project area must be currently landscaped with living, well-maintained lawn. If lawn has been killed or removed prior to a pre-conversion site visit, you are not eligible for this program.
- Participation is voluntary. Projects required by governmental codes or policy are not eligible for this program.
- Projects must be located in an eligible area. A list of cities that have adopted the necessary landscape standards is listed below.
- Projects replacing a traditional lawn area with a native or drought-tolerant lawn, are not discouraged, but are not eligible for the incentive program. This is a lawn removal and replacement program where lawn is replaced with low water landscaping without lawn.
- Areas of the property that have been the subject of previous incentive programs offered by the District are not eligible for this program.
- Replacement of existing drip, mulch/rock/gravel, or plants does not qualify for an incentive payment. This program is intended for lawn replacement only.
- It is the participant’s responsibility to verify that their project complies with city ordinances and requirements.
- An agreement will be required to be signed by each participant.
- Projects that have been started or completed before applying, digital site visit, or signed agreement are ineligible for this program.
Program Process
*Do not remove any lawn from existing landscapes until after your property has been approved by program staff. Only lawn that is currently living and in the landscape at the time of the initial visit will be counted toward your incentive payment.
- Participants log in to mywaterutah.org to apply for the program. Verify eligibility, check deadlines, and ensure funds are available.
- Create a basic plan/description of the project area (lawn to be removed, and what will go back in).
- Weber Basin will contact eligible participants via email to schedule an online site visit through Zoom, Facetime, or other electronic means.
- Allow up to 3 weeks for application to be reviewed and an initial online visit to be done by staff.
- Participants will need to sign the Program Agreement which has to be notarized. This can be done at the District offices or can be emailed and printed by participant and notarized and returned to the District.
- A W-9 form from the IRS is required to receive payment for the program. Click on the link for the form. https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/fw9.pdf
- Photos of each step of the process will be required. This includes grass before removal, grass removed, the irrigation system converted to drip, new plants installed, and the final product which includes mulch (bark or rock).
- Participant will then return to Utah Water Savers and schedule a final site visit once all the work is complete. This site visit will be in person and must happen when water is still on for the season so that the irrigation system operation can be verified. Homeowners do not need to be present but all yard areas must be accessible to District staff on the day of inspection.
- The participant will then receive the incentive payment for the area that was converted via a check in the mail. Payments may take 2-4 weeks to be processed.
- This program has a 12-month completion time frame to receive the incentive payment. If not completed in one year, the project will become ineligible for payment.
- If upon completion your project is missing something to qualify, you will have 60 days to correct items and get it inspected again.
District staff will work with participants to make sure they are meeting all the requirements of the program and successfully completing the projects to meet the program objectives.
Program Requirements and Restrictions
- Replacing lawn with concrete or other impermeable surfaces are not eligible for payment. Areas covered with artificial turf will not be included in the incentivized project payment.
- Completed projects may not result in areas of lawn less than 8 feet wide at their narrowest point. Lawn may not be in park strips or used as a path.
- Lawn within the completed project area may not be on slopes greater than 25% or 4:1 grade.
- Lawn (overhead sprinklers) and planting beds (drip irrigation) may not be on the same irrigation valve (irrigation zone).
- Plant coverage is required for all projects. Total relandscaped area must have at least 35% plant foliage coverage at the plant’s maturity. (For example: This roughly equals 5- 3’ diameter plants for every 100 square feet of project space.) Projects will also require 1 medium (25-40 ft wide) to large (25-40+ ft wide), drought tolerant shade tree be planted for every 3000 square feet of project area. (tree requirement exemptions allowed for properties with overhead powerlines and existing trees.) Trees planted in park strips must follow all city ordinances. Existing plants will not be considered to meet the plant coverage requirements, unless exempted by District staff in writing.
- Annual flowers, other annual plants, and flower bulbs are not eligible to achieve the 35% plant coverage requirement.
- At least 3-4 inches of mulch (such as bark, rock, or gravel), permeable to air and water, shall be used in planting beds to control weeds and improve the appearance of the landscaping.
- Participants will be advised not to remove existing trees as part of the conversion, but doing so will not disqualify them from receiving the incentive. Trees must be planted or left in the landscape if required by the city.
- Participant waives and releases Weber Basin Water Conservancy District and their contractors or agents from any and all claims and causes of action arising out of the installation and use of devices pursuant to this program.
- Commercial properties that the footprint of the building(s) occupies multiple parcels will be considered one property and still subject to the maximum of $50,000 per property.
Irrigation Requirements
- Planting areas must be irrigated with low-volume drip systems. Drip systems must include filter and pressure regulators visible for inspection.
- Drip emitters must be rated at 5 gallons per hour or less.
- Micro-spray emitters, bubblers and soaker hoses are not allowed.
- Drip emitters and spray heads must be on separate zones.
Weber Basin Water Conservancy District has budget funds for this program each year. The program is based on a first-come, first-served basis and will continue until funding is gone for the current year. Funding will be monitored, and applications may be denied or put on hold if funding runs out. Any participant approved in the program will be allowed to complete the program and receive the incentive.
Institutional Properties (Government, Private, Public)
Public and private institutions that own and maintain more than five properties can qualify for the Landscape Lawn Exchange program. The same requirements for Residential and Commercial properties are applicable. In these institutional applications, WBWCD will only incentivize half of the project square footage up to $50,000 per institution per year. These entities can apply multiple years for projects.
Community Qualifications to Participate in the Program
Minimum requirements for cities to be included in the program at the higher incentive rate are for the intent to promote and allow water-efficient landscaping to be done in park strips, front yards, side yards, back yards, and in commercial and institutional landscapes.
The minimum requirements that must be adopted into landscape ordinances by municipalities or counties include:
- Areas within the public right of way between the curb and gutter and the sidewalk (park strips) shall not be landscaped with lawn. .
- Lawn areas will not be allowed in park strips or areas that are less than 8 ft wide at its narrowest point.
- Lawn areas will not exceed 35% of the front and side yard landscaped areas for single-family residential.
- New commercial, industrial, institutional, and multi-family developments shall not have lawn areas that exceed 15% of the total landscaped area, outside of designated active recreational areas that meet District design and landscape standards.
All cities in the District qualify for the Landscape Lawn Exchange incentive rate of $1.25. Cities that have adopted water-efficient landscape ordinances qualify for an incentive rate of $2.50. To see a list of eligible cities click the link https://conservewater.utah.gov/landscape-rebates/.
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