How the SNWA Water Smart Landscapes rebate works

What you get paid

The rebate pays a set amount for every square foot of live grass you replace with qualifying desert landscaping. The rate has sat around $3 per square foot for the first portion of turf and steps down above a threshold, with an annual cap per property. Rates and caps change — confirm the current numbers on snwa.com before you count on a figure.

It only applies to grass that's actually alive and irrigated. You can't rebate a patch of dead dirt where a lawn used to be, and you can't rebate rock that's already rock.

The order matters

This is where people lose the money: you have to apply and get approved before any grass comes out. The rough sequence:

• Apply online with measurements and photos of the existing lawn.
• SNWA does a pre-conversion review (sometimes an in-person measure).
• You get an approval and a deadline to finish the work.
• The grass comes out, the new landscape and drip go in.
• SNWA does a post-conversion inspection.
• The rebate is paid — usually as a credit or check.

What the new landscape has to include

The rebate isn't for a gravel parking lot. To pass inspection the converted area generally needs:

• A minimum amount of living plant coverage at maturity (think mixed shrubs and accents, not one lonely cactus).
• Plants from, or consistent with, the regional approved list — desert-adapted, low-water species.
• Drip irrigation on a timer — no spray heads watering rock.
• Permeable surface: the area still has to absorb rain, not sheet it into the street.

Where we fit

We design the conversion to the rebate spec from the start — coverage, plant selection, drip layout — and handle the measurements and photos for your application. You do the SNWA account part (it's tied to your water bill); we make sure what goes in the ground passes the inspection.