Drought-friendly lawn makeovers take root among Santa Clara County homeowners
SAN JOSE -- As the drought drags on, there is surging demand in Santa Clara County for rebates that pay you back for removing a water-thirsty lawn.
"I have so much more appreciation for the California native plants now," said Julie Garrett, who re-landscaped her front yard in San Jose.
She used drought tolerant plants, and a patch of UC Verde buffalograss — a new alternative turf grass that can go long periods without water.
"It's very drought resistant. We only water it once every two weeks in the summer and not at all the rest of the year," Garrett said.
The best part said Garrett is that the plants and grass qualified for the Santa Clara Valley Water District's landscaping rebate program.
Garrett applied for and received the maximum rebate for homeowners.
"It was about $3,000 dollars," said Garrett. "It made a difference. In fact, I want to say it covered all of the material costs."
Last year, the water district boosted the rebate from $1 per square foot of new drought-tolerant landscaping, to $2. The district also increased the cap to $3,000 dollars.
This year, homeowners are responding. Rebate applications jumped from 222 in April to 417 in July.
"We've had a lot of participation. It's increased over 200% in this last year alone," said Metra Richert, district manager of water supply and conservation.
It's so popular that the district happily boosted the program's funding to about $5 million, which also includes Measure S parcel tax funds.
"We have adequate funding, even including the added participation," Richert said.
Removing lawns is popular even for people not applying for the rebate. Lee, who gave his first name only and lives in Almaden, said he took out his grass because it took a lot of water, a lot of work, and in recent years didn't look great anyway.
He and his family designed their own front landscaping, joining most of their neighbors who have done the same.
"This has worked out really well for us, said Lee. "I mean, I get time back on the weekend from when I used to mow my lawn. And it looks nice."
Water district officials say homeowners must get their landscaping plans pre-approved to qualify for the rebates. Details can be found at www.valleywater.org.
