AUSTIN, Texas — Austin Water customers could get up to $3,000 if they change their landscapes to conserve water. It’s a part of the utility's WaterWise Landscape Rebate Program.
To be eligible to earn money, there’s a list of changes residents will have to make to their lawns:
- Adding compost and/or mulch to keep soil moist and prevent water loss from evaporation
- Changing irrigation heads to drip or low-flow nozzles
- Planting native or adaptive plants with lower water needs such as Texas sage, lantana, salvia, mountain laurel and agave plants.
Austin Water officials say those types of plants tend to only use half the amount of water that a grass lawn would use. That means these changes could save residents hundreds of gallons of water every month.
“If everyone can use half as much water on the yard as they did last year, then we will be saving a lot of water,” Kevin Kluge, Austin Water's conservation manager, said.
Not to mention the amount of savings it would equal Austin Water customers. Austin resident Kay Moynihan said this would be a help because her water bill sometimes doubles or triples during the summer months.
“The whole electric bill, water bill was about $189 this month. But as the months go by, they’ll be $400, $500, almost $600 by September,” Moynihan said.
Kluge said because Austin is still in a drought, conserving water should be the top priority for every Austinite, as another scorching summer is about to start.
“The drought isn’t over, even though we’ve received some rain,” Kluge said. “We have about 50% of our supply in the reservoirs now, so droughts don’t end quickly. So we need for the future, for everyone to help save water.”
For every square foot where residents implement these changes, they will get $1, with a maximum total rebate of $3,000. But before residents can start changing their landscape, Austin Water requires customers to submit an application online with site plan measurements and photos of the current grass conditions. Then once the final photos and receipts are sent to Austin Water, customers will get their rebate.