Southern California’s “Cash for Grass” program has been a prominent feature of the region’s various water conservation initiatives during the state’s four year draught.  The Southern California waterworks districts have enlarged the rebate expenditure in response to the continued effects of the drought.  In some cases, local districts have offered up to $4 per square foot for replacing turf with other conservation-appropriate alternatives.

The response to the program has been overwhelming.  An additional $350 million apportioned for the rebate program for the remainder of the 2015 year was completely drained as of October.  At its peak, the district allocated approximately $15 million in a single week toward the rebate program.  However, due to the lack of additional funding, waterworks districts are not accepting further applications until July, 2016.     Policymakers are hopeful that the commitment to lawn replacement initiatives will persist even when the rebates expire.  In light of the increased prices for obtaining water and the fines implemented for excess water use, Californians have sufficient motivation to continue to explore alternatives to manicured lawns.

In light of the success of this regional initiative, a similar program on a reduced scale was introduced by the Department of Water Resources of California to encourage turf replacement in other regions of the state.  The California 2015 Turf Replacement Initiative authorized the elimination of 50 million square feet of lawns.  The law, which was implemented as of April, 2015, has achieved moderate success.  Only about five million of the $22 million dollars earmarked for rebates in other regions has been collected as of the end of October.  The staggered response is suggestive of the ambivalence that still exists among residents and businesses about eradicating water-dependent grass and vegetation from their properties.

Contact Shane Coons at 949-333-0900 or visit his website at www.ShaneCoonsLaw.com to find out more about the practice.