WateringTimesWatering plan, $19
City of Sacramento Department of Utilities, verified August 2026

Sacramento River Friendly grass conversion rebate: $1.50 per square foot

The capital pays per square foot up to a fixed ceiling, plus separate add-ons for drip conversion, a smart controller and design help. Program name: River Friendly Landscape Program. Grass Conversion Rebate (City of Sacramento).

$1.50per sq ft$1.50/sq ft, up to $3,000 for a single-family home

Verified August 2026 against the agency pages listed under Sources.

Before you touch the lawn. This program pays only for work that starts after the agency has approved the application. The exact wording is quoted below, then the steps.See the steps
Rate, as printed
$1.50 per square foot of grass converted (front, side and back yard). Rebate equals eligible expenses verified by receipts, but will not exceed $1.50 x square footage of turf removed. Dying-but-present turf still qualifies at $1.50/sq ft.
Caps
Single-family/duplex: maximum $3,000 (equivalent of up to 2,000 sq ft). Labor by a licensed C-27 landscape contractor capped at $500 within that total; labor+materials combined cannot exceed $1.50/sq ft or $3,000, whichever is smaller. Separate add-on rebates: up to $400 for drip/rotary-nozzle conversion materials outside the conversion area, up to $400 for an EPA WaterSense smart controller, and up to $200 for landscape design assistance (two hours of consultation). Multi-family (3+ units)/commercial/institutional: maximum $50,000 (up to 50,000 sq ft) at the same $1.50/sq ft, usable for grass conversion, irrigation upgrades, or both; smart controllers $25 per wired station up to $700; C-27 labor up to 20% of reimbursable amount.

The rule in the program's own words

The program has no funding "reservation," but pre-approval is mandatory and losing it is total: "To be eligible for a rebate, customers must receive approval from City staff on all projects BEFORE they begin" (program page). Application PDF: "Rebates are NOT retroactive. Projects underway or completed prior to pre-inspection are not eligible." Terms and Conditions: "rebates are not applicable to, and will not be provided for, any work or conversion performed prior to my enrollment in the rebate program." FAQ: "Do not proceed with your project until you get approval from the River Friendly Landscape staff." Additionally, grass (even dead/dying) must still be in the ground at pre-inspection. removing turf first, or letting it disappear entirely, disqualifies the project.

The steps, in order

  1. Submit a completed grass conversion rebate application (online via Formstack, email, mail or hand-delivery) with photos of existing grass, a plant coverage worksheet and a landscape plan sketch
  2. Wait for approval from Water Conservation staff (missing information may cause delay; supplemental documents must be supplied within two weeks or the application is withdrawn with a one-month wait to reapply)
  3. Schedule the pre-inspection BEFORE beginning the project (staff verify turf is present and maintained)
  4. Complete the landscape conversion and submit itemized receipts and a photo within 120 days of project approval (email extension request early if more time is needed)
  5. Post-inspection: staff review and verify itemized receipts, then inspect the completed project (may measure area, photograph, check irrigation volumetric flow)
  6. Receive the rebate check, usually within 12 weeks of the post-inspection appointment and approval, mailed to the mailing address on the application

Timeline: Application review has no published SLA. After approval: project must be completed and receipts submitted within 120 days of approval (extensions by email). Rebate check usually arrives within 12 weeks of post-inspection approval. No waitlist is mentioned on any current program page; instead: "Rebates are only available while funds last" and "this is a limited, first-come, first-served program." Landscape must remain in place five years.

Who qualifies and what the project must include

Serves: City of Sacramento Department of Utilities water customers (must be receiving City of Sacramento water service at the property; property owner or bill-paying tenant with written owner consent). Other Sacramento-region RWA member suppliers run their own separate turf programs for their own customers; RWA's Be Water Smart site states "Every water provider offers a unique set of rebates to their customers" and routes homeowners to their supplier.

  • Must be receiving City of Sacramento water service at the property
  • Must be the property owner or a bill-paying tenant with written consent (approval letter) from the property owner
  • Turf must be currently maintained and present, verified at the pre-inspection site visit (dead/removed grass does not qualify; dying-but-present grass does)
  • Converted area must use noninvasive, drought-tolerant (very low to low water use) plants with at least 60 percent plant coverage at maturity; existing trees inside the area credit at most 1/4 of mature canopy toward the 60 percent
  • Minimum of five plants for distinct areas greater than 250 sq ft (live page states a minimum of five plants as a project requirement)
  • If irrigated with an automated system, area must convert to drip irrigation controlled by an EPA WaterSense-labeled smart controller; no system required if hand-watering
  • Mulch required: organic or inorganic, spread 2-5 inches deep under trees and shrubs, pieces 6 inches or less in diameter
  • Ineligible for reimbursement: already-completed projects, artificial turf, non-C-27 labor, tree removal, equipment rental, tools, herbicides, cardboard, soil amendments, border materials, boulders, seeds, plants in raised beds or containers
  • Remaining turf must be irrigated efficiently with no runoff/overspray
  • New landscape, irrigation upgrade and smart controller must remain in place minimum five years or funds must be repaid; City may conduct site visits for five years
  • IRS form 1099 issued when rebates total $2,000 or more (per current Terms and Conditions page)

Stacking with other rebates: Within the City program itself the rebates stack: grass conversion ($1.50/sq ft, $3,000 cap) is calculated separately from the smart controller rebate (up to $400), the irrigation upgrade materials rebate (up to $400) and landscape design assistance ($200). FAQ: "The square footage rebate is calculated separately from the smart controller and landscape design assistance rebates." The City does not publish a rule on combining its rebate with other agencies' rebates. RWA/Be Water Smart offers no regional turf rebate to stack; each member supplier serves only its own customers, so a City DOU customer would not simultaneously qualify for e.g. Sacramento County Water Agency's Cash for Grass.

Contact: City of Sacramento Department of Utilities, Water Conservation (5730 24th Street, Building 22, Sacramento, CA 95822; riverfriendly@cityofsacramento.org; 916-808-1337)

Watering rules from the same agency

City of Sacramento Department of Utilities also sets the watering days

Once the new planting is in, the days and hours on that page are the ones that apply to it. The plant guides help pick a bed that stays cheap to run.

Sacramento watering schedulePlant guides for the new bed

Questions people ask

What does the City of Sacramento rebate pay?

$1.50/sq ft, up to $3,000 for a single-family home. The rate line and the full cap wording, including the fiscal-year and lifetime limits, are printed at the top of this page.

Can I remove my lawn first and apply afterward?

No, and this is the rule that costs people the money. The program has no funding "reservation," but pre-approval is mandatory and losing it is total: "To be eligible for a rebate, customers must receive approval from City staff on all projects BEFORE they begin" (program page).

How long does the process take?

Application review has no published SLA. After approval: project must be completed and receipts submitted within 120 days of approval (extensions by email). Rebate check usually arrives within 12 weeks of post-inspection approval.

Does it stack with other rebates?

Within the City program itself the rebates stack: grass conversion ($1.50/sq ft, $3,000 cap) is calculated separately from the smart controller rebate (up to $400), the irrigation upgrade materials rebate (up to $400) and landscape design assistance ($200). FAQ: "The square footage rebate is calculated separately from the smart controller and landscape design assistance rebates." The City does not publish a rule on combining its rebate with other agencies' rebates.

Who is this program for?

City of Sacramento Department of Utilities water customers (must be receiving City of Sacramento water service at the property; property owner or bill-paying tenant with written owner consent). Other Sacramento-region RWA member suppliers run their own separate turf programs for their own customers; RWA's Be Water Smart site states "Every water provider offers a unique set of rebates to their customers" and routes homeowners to their supplier.

Other programs

SoCal WaterSmart (MWD)LADWP (Los Angeles)EBMUD (East Bay)Valley Water (Santa Clara Co.)

Sources