Water agency sees record number of rebates outside lawn removal

According to a report issued to Metropolitan Water District’s board of directors, residents responded to the California drought by doing more than just replacing their lawns with artificial turf. Based on the report, a record number of MWD customers applied for rebates for high-efficiency toilets and washing machines and rain barrels.

When the water agency issued $131 million in conversation rebates for fiscal year 2014-15, they saw a flood of customers race to apply for lawn removal rebates. MWD removed 50 million square feet of grass but also issued rebates for 215,000 high-efficiency toilets, 27,000 high-efficiency washing machines and 13,000 rain barrels.

“These results demonstrate there’s more than one way to conserve,” said Metropolitan Water District general manager Jeffrey Kightlinger. “Removing turf might have gotten the attention, but it’s the investments in other conservation actions and devices that also serve as the foundation for the water savings we will see in the years and decades to come.”

While MWD’s turf removal program closed at the beginning of July, there’s still $17 million available for water-saving devices, like high-efficiency washers, toilets and weather-based irrigation controllers.

To learn more about the rebate programs, click here.