California is in desperate need of you converting your landscaping to low-water plants and design. Even with the state caught up on its water needs, the imperative of updating exterior landscaping to drought-tolerant varietals is not only essential but now legislated to be in full effect by 2028. The Non-functional turf ban goes into effect for government properties first, with commercial buildings to face mandated turf replacement mandates in 2027 and multi-unit residential properties mandated to be in compliance by January 2028.
What comes next? You can bet standard residences in low rainfall regions of California (like most of Southern California) are likely on the line for mandated turf replacement rebate in about 5 years. That's a lot of time from now. But getting ahead of the curve while rebates are plentiful is certainly becoming more and more appealing.
That's why the California state government agency CalWEP and the Department of Water and Power have implemented the Water$mart program for offering rebates for lawn replacements and other landscaping improvements to all manner of property owners in the most drought prone regions.
Fall 2025 Update
As of September 1, 2025...
Commercial properties are now being offered $7/sq.ft. Learn More
SoCal Water$mart is now offering an additional $1/sq.ft. California Native Plant Bonus to all existing rebates.
There are a lot of details on these lawn replacement rebates and many of the programs are moving fast. Rumors are that the California Department of Water and Power is looking to mandate water-district-controlled exterior valves on all exterior residential taps in the future. This means your water district (or the state water board) could automatically shut off your exterior water if you go over their allotted amounts... without your consent. This seems like overreach to us, along with a number limiting definitions of what suitable functional turf replacements are, so feel free to contract DWP representatives via CalWEP to voice concerns if you agree. Feel free to tell them you heard about here.
Now, on to the good stuff...
How much money can you get for installing drought tolerant or native landscaping?
If you're doing a normal sized yard of about 1,500 sq.ft. of turf you can comfortably expect a rebate of $4,500-7,500 from your local water district. Though some districts cap out at a few thousand dollars. And others (like San Diego county) may require you to take a few classes to get rebates over several thousand.
For larger projects, you can get quite a lot of money to replace your lawn with low-water landscaping plants. If you're removing turf you can apply for a $2/sq.ft. - $4/sq.ft. rebate for your new landscaping. With a NEW 2025 additional $1/sq.ft. rebate for installing an all California native landscape.
This means if you're replacing 5,000 sq.ft. of lawn in your front yard you could get $15,000 - 25,000 from your local water district.
Are SoCal Water$mart rebates enough to cover the costs of new landscaping?
From what our customers tell us, not really. Rebates cover the cost of a new yard if :
- You use preplanned design templates (like those included with our plant packages or those provided by state water rebate sites) or design it yourself.
- And do the majority of the landscape installation labor yourself.
Planting 60 new plants in compacted suburban soil is no small feat, so make sure you know how-to dig a perfect hole. And familiarize yourself with native or drought tolerant soil requirements by reading a book or two before going too deep.
The more common outcome is that homeowners use Water$mart rebates to cover the cost of materials and they foot the bill on installation labor and a good portion of the expense on a new irrigation system.
Most districts offer additional rebates on drip irrigation or smart controllers, but those are typically only enough to cover about %20 of the cost of a totally new system.
For comparison, the average cost of a custom landscape design installation (not including the design) for a new front yard is $25,000. This includes the removal of old plant material and hardscapes, the addition of new permeable pathways, some grading (for rainwater harvesting features like rain gardens or swales), planting, sometimes a new raised planter bed or two and an irrigation update. Costs of course vary significantly by increasing in higher income areas and decreasing in less densely populated and lower income areas, where labor tends to come cheaper.
Rebate Qualifying Plant Packages
"I have to say, we’ve recommended it to other people who are thinking about trying to do their gardens at a reasonable cost. The rebate basically covered the cost of the plants. We spent maybe another $1500 on materials and installs. We did about half of the install ourselves." - Richard A., Los Angeles, Click here to Shop
How Much is Your Water District Offering?
(Click on the water district listed below to be linked to the application site).
Some areas of California have more than one Rebate offering. So far Palo Alto is the only region we've found that lists exclusions for getting more than one rebate. I say, apply for them all and go for double financing where allowed. In addition keep in mind that lower rainfall regions will always have more generous rebates.
Bay Area Water : Daly City, Menlo Park, San Bruno, Milpitas, Mountain View, Palo Alto, Redwood City, San Jose, Santa Clara, SFO, Sunnyvale, Hayward and more
Offering $2-4/sq.ft. for you to convert your existing lawn to drought tolerant plants depending on where you live. Plus $300 for rain garden features with the "lawn be gone" rebate program. Plant coverage must be %50 and mulch to 3 inches. Maxes out at a few thousand dollars (except Redwood City).
Cal Water : Bakersfield, Chico, East Los Angeles, Redondo, Livermore, Los Altos, Salinas, Stockton, Palos Verdes and some surrounding areas
Get up $2.00-3.50 per sq.ft. to install new landscaping with drip irrigation with the "lawn to garden" rebate program depending on your area. Maxes out at $3,000 - 4,500 for residential home owners ($30,000 for commercial). You have to have or make an account through Cal Water's portal to access further information.
L.A. Water District: Most of Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino and Ventura Counties
The original turf rebate organization Water$mart also offers a number of rebates for smart irrigation controllers and water-saving in home appliances. As of 2024 they have upped their offer to $3/sq.ft. for replacing your lawn with a water smart landscape. Requires a rain capturing feature (click here for free guide on rain capturing features) and 3 plants per sq.ft...more details on this one below.
PLUS NEW IN 2024 - Get $100 per tree for up to 5 trees to install ANY shade producing tree.
Orange County : All of the OC
The OC is giving up to $3/sq.ft. for lawn replacing with low-water plants and drip irrigation plus FREE landscape design consulting and customized maintenance schedules. Maxes out at 5,000 sq.ft.
The city's River-friendly landscaping program is offering $1.50/sq.ft. up to $3,000 for home owners as well as rebates for irrigation controllers, rain barrels and other water saving sundries.
South San Francisco Bay Area - Valley Water: San Jose, Palo Alto, Campbell, Cupertino, Gilroy, Santa Clara and More
Get $2/sq.ft. up to $3,000 for home owners for replacing lawn OR POOL and up to $100,000 for commercial/multi-family. There's also rebate options for replacing lawn with mulch.
San Diego / Additional Sweet Water District Rebates & Free Landscape Designs
WOW, offering up $4/sq.ft. for a maximum of $20,000 for replacing your lawn, updating to drip irrigation and adding a rain capturing feature. This can be a rain barrel, dry riverbed or berms and swales on contour. 3 plants required per 100 sq.ft. and 3" deep of mulch around each plant. Up to 50,000 sq.ft. for commercial and multiunit. Other incentives without lawn removal for planting along pavement. Similar rebates for Rainbow water district in Carlsbad and surrounding.
San Gabriel Valley Water: Alhambra, Azusa, Monterey Park, Sierra Madre
San Garbriel Valley Water is now using Be Waterwise turf replacement rebate system. With added $35 rebates per rain barrel, $80 rebates per smart irrigation controller and $2/rotating sprinkler head rebate. Scroll to bottom of page here for more info.
The Cash for Grass program gives home owners a maximum of $6000. It's been renewed through 2026! Get $3.50 per sq.ft. plus lots of additional rebates with drip irrigation conversion add-ons.
You can get $2/sq.ft. in Palm Springs for your new yard (and that includes artificial turf though I personally don't recommend it - try this instead) and $1.50 per sq.ft. in Palmdale to replace lawns and cover bare soil with low-water plants (like Xeric Modern or Blossom 365 you can even quadruple the square footage on these to meet rebate guidelines).
The Cash for Grass Program offers $1/sq.ft. for up to 1,000 square feet. Not as much as more water strapped cities, but still enough to sheet mulch and plant some cool plants.
How to qualify for a Water$mart rebate?
Here's the 5-step process for qualifying for your rebate. MAKE SURE you apply and get approval BEFORE you start your project. You need your lawn or defunct irrigation to still be in the ground to qualify. In some areas it needs to still be partially living.
- Three plants every 25-30 square feet... that means one of our plant packages can cover double or even quadruple the listed square footage (or just add a nice open decomposed granite (DG) or gravel patio in the center).
- Do NOT remove any existing trees
- Add one water retention feature: like a dry river bed, rain barrel, swale or other natural water$mart contouring (swales are like natural little stream beds or a ditch that only fill up when it's raining or there's extra water... click here for the green garden group's awesome guide on Waterwise landscape planning)
- Mulch to a minimum of 3" deep with wood chip, bark or other organic matter. See our Mulch blog for ideas of how to get this material FREE. Make sure all soil in the area is covered with mulch, DG or gravel.
- Demonstrate usage of water$mart irrigation. Either improve your irrigation system with drip or a high-tech controller or ensure no overhead sprayers are used.
"This is my first dabble in gardening and I love it! It's so rewarding. Before I had a gift card for Home Depot and bought a bunch of ugly plants that didn't look good anywhere. California Wild Gardens was great because it gave me a design without having to have somebody come here and do the whole custom thing. I really wanted to be involved in the process with my yard. It's so much more meaningful when other people appreciate it and whenever a different plant blooms I get so excited." - Chris W., Pacifica
More money for more water savings?
Irrigation improvements are another landscaping item heavily rebated in California at the moment. Most water departments will cover up to %75 of the cost of drip irrigation controllers that improve water distribution. Or give you a $0.50 rebate per sq.ft. of sprinklers removed. Check with your local water department to verify.
In recent events native turf & native groundcover plugs and sods are ALSO qualifying for rebates in many districts. Talk to us or your local water district to make sure before applying. Contact us with questions! We LOVE helping make drought tolerant landscaping more accessible.
Estimate your rebate amounts today:
Then apply through your local water district's website. Enter your zip code at the top of this website (click here) to find yours. OR apply through Southern California's water website by clicking here.
Ideas on Cheap Ways to Kill off your Lawn
Sheet mulching is far and away the cheapest and most environmentally-friendly way to kill off a lawn. The process involves using materials anyone can find for free to smother existing lawns and build up depleted soil nutrients and top soil. It can sit for a year to start to break down or be planted into right away. The cardboard makes a natural weed barrier layer that composts down to feed worms.
Ideas on where to get Plants for Lawn Replacing
Lots of water districts offer free landscape designs. So do a number of California native plant non profits (check these out). But sometimes these designs lack the luster and finish you want a new yard to have. Plus, finding the exact plants can be a pain because of seasonal availability, nursery trends and just getting them all to fit in your car without making a mess. Let's be honest, wedging 40 plants into the trunk of a Tesla isn't always a sure shot.
That's why I created California Wild Gardens. To offer FREE DELIVERY on beautiful environment-benefitting plant packages that include modern designs that great with modern architecture (and Craftsman too!). All California Native-inspired plant packages are guaranteed rebate-qualifying plants. As are %95 of our Designer plant packages too. The Catch with purchasing your lawn replacement landscaping plants and design through California Wild Gardens? Install is on you, hire out or DIY. We always do our best to support the entire process through great customer service. And provide delivery in as little as 3-5 business days.
Notes on Native Lawn Grass & Kurapia Groundcover
Some water districts accept California native lawn products and Phyla nodiflora as suitable for lawn replacement rebates. The catch? It has to be installed with drip irrigation. Slopes and part-shaded areas are typically best for these kinds of plantings.
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