San Marcos offers residents water conservation rebates

San Marcos Water and Energy Conservation Department now offers rebates to city residents who help with conservation efforts in their own yards.

Keeping grass green is a costly portion of any homeowner’s water bill, especially in Central Texas where temperatures rise to triple digits every summer. Removing a lawn can reduce expenses from water usage and time spent on yard work. There are plenty of options for landscaping that are both attractive and sustainable.

“We get a lot of calls about high water bills. With the population growth, there are lots of new neighborhoods being built that are installing irrigation systems. We want residents to know there are different options (aside from grass) if they want to avoid high bills. There is a potential for people to save thousands of gallons of water, we hope,” said Jan Klein, conservation coordinator for the City of San Marcos.

By replacing grass with materials that require little or no water, many of San Marcos’ 10,000 single family homes may qualify to be reimbursed for up to half of the costs to convert the yard. Estimates for rebates could be anywhere from a couple hundred dollars to a $1,400 depending on the size of the project, according to the city's Water and Conservation Department.

Future expansions of the program, pending budgetary allowances, could include rebates for commercial conversions as well, which would positively impact citywide water use.

Klein said despite the increasing population and increasing water usage citywide, water usage per person has stayed pretty stable and the City of San Marcos has a long term goal to decrease the per person amount. The department offers other incentives for decreasing water usage including rebates of updating irrigation systems and installing rainwater harvesting tanks. Utilizing all three rebate programs together would maximize water and utility bill reduction.

A single family home is eligible for this rebate if they are a customer of San Marcos Water Utility and are in good standing. The conversion of the yard must be at least 100 contiguous square feet of healthy lawn grass.

Options include xeriscaped beds, paved patios, artificial turf, mulch, gravel or river rock hardscape.

There is no set limitation on the number of projects that will be approved, however, approvals are dependent on the availability of funds for rebates which is set at $150,000 for FY2020. Klein said that so far there are only a handful of applications in and they would love to see the need for an increased budget for this program in the future.

Klein recommends reading the application process carefully, making sure to document all steps of the project with receipts and photos. She is available for questions over the phone at any time.

The Water and Energy Conservation Department offers many other rebate programs including the soil saver rebate, which is a rebate to apply for this spring. This rebate reimburses for core aerating and composting or mulching the top layer of their soil, keeping the soil healthy and removing areas of compacted soil to allow air, water, and nutrients to reach deep below the surface. Healthy soil absorbs water better and reduces how much water is lost to evaporation, which will also lower water usage and water bills.

The rebate for this program is available for single family homes as well as commercial and institutional properties for up to 50 percent of the cost of the project.