Lawn to Garden Rebate

Program Overview

Contra Costa Water District (CCWD) offers rebates to customers for replacing their lawn with water-wise landscaping. Front yards and back yards are now eligible for conversion.

Rebate Amount

  • The rebate is $1 per square foot of lawn replaced up to the maximum amount.
  • The maximum rebate for single-family residential sites is $2,000; The maximum rebate for commercial, multi-family, and municipal accounts is $20,000 per site.

View photos of successfully completed lawn to garden projects and check out the program eligibility and requirements below. Find tips to help you get started - check out Seven Steps to a New Landscape and Garden Galleries for inspiration.

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Completed Lawn to Garden Projects

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Program Eligibility and Requirements*

Eligibility

  • The program is available to residential, commercial, and municipal customers who receive water for their landscape through a metered service in the CCWD retail and wholesale service area.  
  • Program is NOT retroactive. Projects underway or completed prior to applying and receiving a CCWD approval are not eligible.
  • Sites can participate multiple times up to the rebate maximum.
  • A minimum of 300 square feet of lawn must be converted in the front yard or back yard. Smaller front yard or back yard projects will be considered if 100% of the lawn area is being removed.
  • Lawn areas proposed to be converted must have been irrigated. Brown or dead lawns that are not currently irrigated due to drought are accepted. 
  • Are you part of a Homeowner’s Association? Check out Legal Right to Have Water-Wise Landscaping (PDF) for more info.

Completed Project Requirements

  • Projects must use enough plants so that at least 50% of the converted area is covered once fully grown. 
  • Plants must be low water needing and appropriate for our climate, see our Approved Plant List (PDF).
  • Planted areas must be covered with mulch.
  • If there is a current sprinkler system in place, it must be removed or replaced with a drip system.
  • New landscape may include pathways and other hardscape. Concrete and other non-permeable surfaces cannot make up more than 20% of the total area to be rebated. The landscape must still meet the 50% plant cover requirement.
  • Generally, CCWD provides six (6) months to complete a project, but extensions may be allowed if funding is available.

*Additional restrictions apply. See Terms and Conditions (PDF) and  Frequently Asked Questions for full details.

How to Apply

  1. Confirm your site is eligible and you understand the requirements by reading the Program Terms and Conditions and Frequently Asked Questions above.
  2. Fill out the Lawn to Garden Rebate Application.
  3. Wait to receive a Notice to Proceed letter from CCWD. We may reach out to conduct an on-site pre-project inspection before approving the project. Please wait for approval of your participation in the program before starting your project.
  4. AFTER your application is approved, get started with these resources:
  5. Submit your completed project for review.
    • After your project has been reviewed and approved, CCWD will mail a rebate check. Thank you for joining the many customers who have decided to Lose a Lawn and Get a Garden!

Questions? Call 925-688-8320 or email us.

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