Sacramento council votes to launch ‘cash for grass’ program to save water
By Ryan Lillis
Sacramento Bee
Mar. 4, 2014
The city of Sacramento wants to pay you to rip out your
water-guzzling lawn.
The City Council voted unanimously Tuesday night to launch a
“cash for grass” program that will provide rebates to homeowners who replace
their grass lawns with drought-tolerant landscaping. Demand for the rebates is
expected to be high; city utilities officials said they already had a waiting
list for the program before the spending plan was approved.
“I think this will really help our residents make a
difference in saving water,” said Councilman Kevin McCarty, who proposed the
program. “I think it’s time that as a city, we help incentivize action in
conservation.”
The rebate plan has not been finalized, but could involve
homeowners receiving 50 cents per square foot of lawn, up to 1,000 feet. The
city has set aside $100,000 for the program and plans to start issuing rebates
in April.
Sacramento has launched intense water conservation efforts
in recent weeks, as the region and Northern California grapple with a historic
drought that has led to low levels in area reservoirs and rivers.
In January, the council voted to enact a mandatory 20
percent reduction on citywide water usage and to beef up enforcement of
residents watering lawns during the week, a violation of winter watering rules.
Utilities officials told the council that the city is off to
a good start in its water conservation. Total water use in Sacramento was down
12 percent in January, compared with the average total of the past two years.
That’s a reduction of 8 million gallons per day.
Residents have also responded to calls by the city to report
water waste.
The city received 110 calls through the first two months of
last year from residents reporting illegal water use. Over the same time this
year, residents made 2,200 of those calls.
That has led to a sharp increase in the number of warnings
the city has issued to homeowners, from 14 last year to 205 this year. Only a
handful of fines have been issued.
Recent rainfall has helped, but has not erased the region’s
drought concerns.
“I want to emphasize that the drought does persist,” said
Dave Brent, city utilities director. “There really is no end in sight.”
Utilities officials said the city would continue its water
conservation plans. Billboards will begin appearing around the city and on
buses next week urging residents to take shorter showers and “brush every other
tooth.”
Brent said the city would also ask for money for the lawn
program in next year’s budget.
“If you need more, come back,” said Councilman Steve Hansen.
Roseville has the oldest “cash for grass” program in the
region. Lisa Brown, a water conservation administrator in Roseville, said the
city has granted about 500 rebates since 2008. More than 350,000 square feet of
grass lawn has been replaced over that time, she said.
Roseville pays $1 per square foot for its program. Demand
was so high this year that the city has already run out of money and will have
to wait until the next fiscal year to begin issuing rebates again, Brown said.
Chris Brown, a water consultant and the former executive
director of California Urban Water Conservation Council, applauded Sacramento’s
rebate plan.
“It’s time for Sacramento to be a leader in the Central
Valley,” he said.
The city of Sacramento wants to pay you to rip out your water-guzzling lawn.
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