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Water-wise landscape · Turf conversion and the rebate

Turf removal

Live turf removed and disposed of, measured and documented the way the rebate programme requires.

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One flat fee to find out what is wrong. You are told it on the phone before anyone is dispatched, and it comes off the job if you hire us. Read our Plain Terms

A front yard laid with artificial turf beside a concrete drive, with a bare planted strip along the boundary
A front lawn that takes no water. Southern California.

What the work is

Removing the grass is the physical half. Documenting it is the half that decides whether you get paid.

The district's programme measures live turf, before and after, and the paperwork has to line up with what was actually there. We measure, photograph and record before anything is touched, because there is no way to prove afterwards what was there.

If you are doing this yourself, do that part anyway. The measuring and the photographs are free and they are the whole claim.

What is included

  • Measuring and photographing the area before any work starts
  • Removing live turf and its root zone
  • Disposal
  • Leaving the ground ready for whatever comes next
  • The before-and-after record in a form the district's application accepts

What is not

  • The new landscape, which is its own item
  • Irrigation modification, which is its own item
  • The rebate application itself, unless you ask us to manage it
  • Any guarantee that a rebate will be approved. That is the district's decision

How the rebate actually works

The Washington County Water Conservancy District pays a base rate per square foot of live turf removed, with an additional amount on the first 1,000 square feet running to 1 June 2027. The cap is per property per calendar year. There is no five-year rule on the district's programme; that condition belongs to the state programme and gets attributed to the district's constantly.

Your town has its own rules

Every town here sets its own landscape rules and they are not the same. St. George, Washington City and Ivins each cap residential lawn differently, and Washington City's ceiling applies to every lot regardless of its size. Ivins bans lawn watering year-round and limits slope. Your town page has the figures with the section numbers next to them.

Washington City's ordinance defines 'rehabilitated landscaping' in a way that expressly includes district-funded conversions, which pulls a rebate job into the city's requirements. If you are in Washington City, read that before you plan the new yard.

What to ask anyone quoting this, us included

  • Did you measure and photograph before you started?
  • Is my measurement what the district will accept?
  • What does my city require of the area afterwards?

What we can show you in writing

Every line traces to a document we read in full. The number after a sentence points to the research below.

  • WCWCD's Water Efficient Landscape rebate pays $3 per square foot on the first 1,000 square feet of lawn removed and $2 per square foot after that, for projects completed before June 1, 2027.1
  • The Washington County Water Conservancy District caps the landscape rebate at $100,000 per property per calendar year. There is no five-year waiting rule on the district side; that limit belongs to the separate state program, which Washington County applicants are routed away from.2
  • WCWCD issues the rebate in less than 60 days after project completion and paperwork, and says rebates commonly cover 30 to 50 percent of a conversion that costs $4 to $6 per square foot with a contractor.1
  • Removing or killing the lawn before the approval email and pre-conversion site visit permanently voids rebate eligibility; the grass must be alive at inspection, though irrigation may be shut off for up to a month beforehand if blades remain visible.1
  • For an owner-occupied primary residence WCWCD does not collect a W-9 or issue a 1099 for the rebate; owners of second homes, rentals and commercial property are issued a 1099.1
  • Every rebated conversion attaches a perpetual conservation easement, recorded with the Washington County Recorder, that restricts only the converted area and prohibits irrigated grass, spray irrigation, pools, ponds and water features there forever.1
1 more fact, with sources
  • WCWCD enforces the easement by aerial imagery; a violation brings written notice, 45 days to cure, then repayment of the full rebate plus administrative costs and 5 percent annual interest.1

Where this comes from

Every line above traces to a document we read in full. The number after a sentence points to the research below; hover it for the section. If you find a line wrong, tell us and we will fix it and say so.

  1. Landscape and hardscape research, August 2026 Compiled from Washington County Water Conservancy District program documents, its sample conservation easement and FAQ, Utah Water Savers, the 2023 USDA hardiness map, USU Extension, and St. George City Code, Title 10. 6 sections cited. Hover a number above for the section.
  2. WCWCD Water Efficient Landscape Program agreement, wcwcd.gov, retrieved 2 Sept 2026

Read before you decide

The rest of turf conversion and the rebate

The quote is the number. There is no second number.

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