Statewide landscape incentive program offers up to $3 per square foot for lawn-to-waterwise conversions

Candace Scheible, water conservation coordinator with the Utah Division of Water Resources, said the state supports homeowners converting turf to water-efficient landscapes through a statewide Landscape Incentive Program. “This program offers up to $3 a square foot for lawn that's replaced with water efficient landscaping,” Scheible said during a monthly webinar for program participants.

The program is administered locally and eligibility, payment amounts and application requirements vary by jurisdiction. Scheible directed participants to a centralized resource: “When you click on that or go to the link, it just takes you to a Google Sheet where we just organized all the cities across the state,” which lists the agency operating the program in each area and eligibility guidance. She said if a homeowner is outside an incorporated area they should look up their county on the sheet to find the appropriate local contact.

Scheible emphasized one program condition described during the webinar: local areas operating the program must adopt water-efficient standards for new construction in order to participate. She encouraged residents to contact local representatives if those standards are not yet in place.

The webinar format included a short educational presentation followed by a Q&A and a post-event survey. Scheible asked attendees to use the session survey to suggest future topics and to use the Q&A box during the webinar so organizers could track questions and follow up.

Because the program is administered by local agencies, Scheible recommended applicants confirm specific rules, deadlines and required documentation with the local implementer listed on the statewide sheet before applying. The webinar did not announce any new statutory changes or state-level legislative actions; it described the existing incentive program and where to find local contact information.