Golf courses, HOAs, and other large properties in the Coachella Valley have a new reason to scale back their grass.
The Coachella Valley Water District is offering residents money for qualifying projects that replace turf with desert-friendly landscaping, a change that could make some of the valley's biggest landscaped areas less reliant on irrigation.
In places where common-area landscaping is paid for through monthly fees or dues, the shift could mean less watering, less upkeep, and lower costs, according to NBC Palm Springs.
Here's what to know
The Coachella Valley Water District has introduced a turf-conversion rebate for customers served by non-domestic sources such as canal water, recycled water, and well water.
Qualifying projects can receive $2 per square foot.
Rather than the typical household water service used at most homes, the program targets larger properties irrigated with non-potable water. That includes golf courses, homeowners associations, and similar sites with expansive landscaped areas.
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Applicants can submit multiple projects, but the district must approve each one in writing before work starts, and each must cover between 500 and 100,000 square feet.
The rebate is not available retroactively, and money will be awarded on a first-come, first-served basis.
Participants must put up their own matching $2 per square foot, making the minimum total project cost $4 per square foot.
The rebate funding comes from roughly $1.5 million from the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation's WaterSMART program.
More background
In a desert area like the Coachella Valley, maintaining large stretches of grass can demand significant irrigation.
Replacing ornamental turf with landscaping better suited to the climate can ease that pressure while also reducing upkeep.
In HOA-managed neighborhoods, those landscaping costs can shape what residents pay in monthly dues.
Similar changes at home, such as upgrading to a natural lawn or rewilding your yard, lower overall water costs, drastically reduce maintenance, and create new habitat for pollinators.
What's being done?
CVWD describes the rebate as part of a broader effort to promote conservation and cut back on outdoor water use across the Coachella Valley.
The district already had landscape-conversion rebate programs in place, although the rules and project limits differed by customer category.
This version targets large landscapes served by non-domestic water.
Lorraine Garcia of the Coachella Valley Water District said HOAs and golf courses have already removed grass from spaces that are not used for play or recreation.
That gives property managers the option to target underused areas instead of removing every lawn surface, replacing those sections with desert-friendly landscaping that needs less irrigation.
As Lorraine Garcia of the Coachella Valley Water District noted, "replacing turf does not necessarily mean sacrificing the appearance of a property."
Where can I learn more?
These articles cover turf-removal rebates and yard-conversion programs in California and Arizona.
• Across the state, California turf-replacement rebates are paying property owners to remove thirsty lawns.
• In North Marin, residents can get up to $2,500 to swap grass for water-wise landscaping.
• In Gilbert, Arizona, game-changing rebate programs are helping homeowners cut outdoor water use.
• In Phoenix, cash incentives for ditching grass lawns are pushing more homeowners toward desert-friendly yards.
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