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There are new enhanced rebates for removing turf and replacing it with sustainable landscaping. Photo: Water Authority

Cash Rebates Increase for Grass Removal in San Diego Region

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Removing grass can generate rebates of at least $2 per square foot for San Diego residents under new enhanced incentives that started this month.

As of April 1, the Metropolitan Water District is offering $2 per square foot for every square foot of grass removed from yards and replaced with sustainable landscaping.

Rebates may vary by water agency, but an online incentive calculator identifies the current rebate amounts.

New rules for turf rebates. Graphic: BeWaterSmart.com

New rules for turf rebates. Graphic: BeWaterSmart.com

To increase participation, MWD also updated program rules. The rules are listed at the application site.

All San Diego County residents are eligible for the $2 rebate.

But, that’s not all. The San Diego County Water Authority is offering an additional $1.75 per square foot to customers in its service area, with grant funds provided by the California Department of Water Resources.  And, the City of San Diego offers city residents $1.25 per square foot. That means some homeowners can earn as much as a $5 rebate for each square foot of turf removed.

Turf rebate programs have proven popular in Southern California, and funds could go quickly.

Water Authority offers free landscaping classes

While rebates can provide a big boost to landscaping makeover projects, it’s also important to start planning before you start planting.

That’s where the Water Authority’s WaterSmart Landscape Makeover Program comes in. Free resources are available to upgrade turf yards.

For instance, the Water Authority offers free landscape makeover classes that help homeowners make smart choices to reduce outdoor water use by designing beautiful and climate-appropriate landscapes for our region.

Find additional water-saving programs, incentives, and classes for residents and businesses at: https://www.watersmartsd.org/

“San Diego County homeowners and businesses know that sustainable landscapes are key to water reliability in our region,” said Joni German, who manages the Water Authority’s WaterSmart Landscape Makeover Program. With the help of local landscape architects and designers, our WaterSmart Landscape Makeover Program gives them the knowledge and skills they need to be successful. WaterSmart landscapes are an upgrade, not a compromise.”

Western Bird Species Are Struggling In Face Of Rapidly Changing Climate

/in , /by /KPBS (San Diego)by Erik Anderson

New research finds that climate change is putting stress on wetlands in the West’s Great Basin and that is putting pressure on bird populations navigating the Pacific Flyway. Changing water conditions linked to climate change are impacting the wetland habitats that waterbirds rely on. The basin includes most of Nevada and parts of Utah, Arizona, Oregon and the eastern edge of California. Warmer temperatures and less rain are affecting wetland habitats. “Eleven of those 14 birds that we looked at there were significant correlations between changes in climate and a decrease in population,” said Susan Haig, U.S. Geological Survey researcher emeritus.

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OPINION: San Diego Is Ready For Some Big Water Solutions

/in , , /by /San Diego Union-Tribuneby Jim Madaffer Mentioned: San Diego County Water Authority

Back in the early 1990s — near the start of my career at San Diego City Hall — the San Diego County Water Authority launched a historic effort to sustain the region’s economy and quality of life by diversifying our water supplies so that we didn’t depend on one source for 95 percent of our water. That effort took many forms, many billions of dollars and more than two decades — but it paid off in spades. Even though we are at the literal end of the pipeline, today we have among the most diversified and secure water supply systems anywhere.

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Cash Rebates Increase For Grass Removal In San Diego Region

/in , , /by /Water News Network (San Diego) Mentioned: San Diego County Water Authority

Removing grass can generate rebates of at least $2 per square foot for San Diego residents under new enhanced incentives that started this month. As of April 1, the Metropolitan Water District is offering $2 per square foot for every square foot of grass removed from yards and replaced with sustainable landscaping. Rebates may vary by water agency, but an online incentive calculator identifies the current rebate amounts. To increase participation, MWD also updated program rules. The rules are listed at the application site. All San Diego County residents are eligible for the $2 rebate.

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Water Board Orders Water Prohibition For Cannabis Grows Through October

/in , /by /Ukiah Daily Journal (Ukiah, Calif.)by Jim Shields

On March 29, the State Water Resources Control Board announced that cannabis cultivators with water rights are not allowed to divert surface water for cannabis cultivation activities at any time from April 1 through October 31 of this year unless the water diverted is from storage. The Board’s action is what is known as a “forbearance order” that is a central provision in state marijuana legalization policy. It’s really just common sense because it prohibits using water from surface sources, such as streams, creeks, and rivers during California’s dry season.

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OPINION: Saving The Salton Sea Isn’t Just California’s Problem, Says Sen. Dianne Feinstein

/in , , /by /Los Angeles Timesby Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.)

I agree with the March 29 editorial that projects to cover the shrinking Salton Sea’s exposed shoreline are desperately needed to prevent an environmental and public health crisis.In the recent farm bill, I secured provisions that made the Salton Sea eligible for Department of Agriculture conservation funding for the first time. We’re now working with Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue to make additional funds available as quickly as possible to support conservation efforts at the Salton Sea. Addressing the Salton Sea’s shoreline problems is only one step needed to improve environmental conditions for Imperial County residents.

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Reservoirs Release More Water In Anticipation Of Snowpack

/in , /by /Calaveras Enterprise, (Calaveras, Calif.)by Davis Harper

Local reservoir managers are proactively releasing water at higher rates than usual in anticipation of increased inflows from heavy winter rains and snowstorms. The Central Sierra five station index has recorded 43 inches of rain since Oct. 1, the beginning of the water year – 129 percent of normal levels for April 1. The snowpack for the San Joaquin hydrologic region, which encompasses the northern portion of the San Joaquin Valley bordered by the Sierra Nevada on the east and coastal mountains of the Diablo Range on the west, is at 165 percent of its average with about 48 inches in snow water equivalent for this time of year, based on California Department of Water Resources data.

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Assemblyman Todd Gloria Holds “Inaugural Dialogue” With Mexican Officials On Tijuana Water Pollution

/in , , /by /San Diego Union-Tribuneby Joshua Emerson Smith

Officials met in Imperial Beach Friday to discuss the sewage pollution that continues to plague South Bay shorelines — shuttering beaches more than 100 days every year. The event was billed as an “inaugural dialogue,” which in the future will include a host of other binational issues, including climate change and commerce. Assemblyman Todd Gloria (D-San Diego) and others met on Friday with Baja California officials to discuss future collaboration on how to address Tijuana’s lack of wastewater infrastructure and the potential for California to help with funding. “It’s a statewide concern elevated at the highest levels of state government,” Gloria told a crowd of concerned residents and elected officials, largely from Imperial Beach and Coronado.

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New Recreational Amenities, Restored Marshland Proposed For Mission Bay Park’s Fiesta Island

/in , /by /San Diego Union-Tribuneby David Garrick

San Diego officials are proposing a variety of upgrades to Mission Bay Park’s Fiesta Island including new parks, playgrounds, volleyball courts, marsh areas and habitat preserves. The proposed master plan for the mostly undeveloped 470-acre island is envisioned as a balance between improving the island and retaining its rural ambiance, city officials said. While it would include some significant changes, city officials stress that the plan is less intense than some previous proposals for the island, which has occupied much of eastern Mission Bay since it was created by dredging in the 1940s.

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Councilmember Corner

/in , /by / Coronado Eagle and Journal (Coronado, Calif.)by Bill Sandke Mentioned: San Diego County Water Authority

On March 26 I was privileged to represent Coronado at the 2019 San Diego Climate Summit. It was held at the Robert Paine Forum at Scripps Institution of Oceanography and was billed as a regional dialogue about climate change on the San Diego Region. Built on the foundation of the State of California’s Fourth Assessment recently released there is some sobering news for Coronado regarding sea level rise and more generally, predicted climate variations that look certain to need addressing as we move forward with land use, water and other policy discussions.

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