Congratulations! You’re thinking of taking advantage of the DWP’s WaterWise campaign rebates and replacing your lawn with a turf alternative that will require a lot less of that super-costly H20. There are so many options available, it is good to know the basics and some of the ins and outs of the process. Hope Gardens is happy to help.

1. You will need to take before and after photos. They are required by DWP. Your grass, or what’s left of it, needs to appear green in the “before” photos. You must prove you previously had grass, or some kind of irrigated turf.

If you’ve been smart enough to stop watering the stuff and it is dead, start watering it again so it greens up. This will need to be done anyway to loosen the soil before you can begin removing the lawn.

If watering does not green up your lawn, look for old pictures from your lawn’s heyday.

2. You have to take before photos of your current irrigation system. The idea behind the rebate is that you are going to stop watering or severely cut back your watering of your lawn. Therefore you have to prove you were watering it at one point. So take photos of your irrigation: some emitters, the automatic box on your house, the valves and the sprinkler system actively watering your yard. If you do not have an irrigation system, take a photo of you hand watering the yard.

You will need after photos of your irrigation as well. Either show it disconnected or take photos of your new drip lines. You can also use individual emitters such as bubblers. Take photos of these working if you can.

3. If you are on a tight budget or not sure exactly what you want to do with your area, you can remove your lawn and cover your entire landscape with a permeable material such as mulch/wood chips or gravel/pebbles. You don’t have to plant anything to be eligible for the rebate. Sprinkle some California Poppy seeds around and call it a day! And collect your check!

4. You can only apply for one rebate. So do the maximum amount of work the first time. You can’t decide to do the backyard later and apply for another rebate.

5. You have 120 days from the point of approval to complete the work.

Hope Gardens can walk you through the entire application process, provide you with designs and materials estimates, as well as handle the install and maintenance. Call us for a consult right away. Cause here’s one last tip: rebate amounts are at an all-time high. But funds are limited and they are first come, first serve.

Call Hope Gardens today!

Hope Gardens   323-493-5177   yourhopegarden@earthlink.net

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