Free money to spend on plants? Sign me up! That was my response when I first heard about the WaterSaver rebate programs offered to San Antonio Water System (SAWS) customers. Did you know you can get up to $150 in nursery coupons by attending workshops on water conservation and gardening? Or a $100 rebate to spend on plants by replacing a portion of your turf grass with a drought-tolerant garden bed?
If you are a SAWS customer, I want to make sure you are familiar with these free programs available to your family. After months of 100-degree days and almost no rain, a more drought-tolerant yard sounds like a great idea, and SAWS wants to help you make that a reality. Over the last couple of years our family has earned hundreds of dollars in SAWS WaterSaver rebates to spend on our gardening projects, all while saving on our water bill and making our yard more drought tolerant and beautiful!
Here is a quick overview of just a few of the SAWS WaterSaver programs:
SAWS Water Saver Rewards Coupons
Earn WaterSaver Rewards coupons to spend on plants and other garden supplies by attending workshops on conservation and gardening. Most workshops are free and many are online! Upcoming workshop topics include composting, rainwater harvesting, permaculture basics, and more.
Earn points for each class—once you earn three points you get a $30 coupon to use toward garden supplies including plants, mulch, compost, rain barrels, and bird baths. When you earn five points you get an additional $50 coupon, and when you earn seven points you get an additional $70 for a total of $150 you can earn each year. How great is that? Plus, each adult in the household can earn points separately! Learn more about the SAWS WaterSaver Rewards here.
WaterSaver Irrigation Design Consult and Rebate
Have an in-ground sprinkler system? You can schedule a free WaterSaver Irrigation Consultation with a SAWS representative. They’ll come out and assess your sprinkler system, then provide you with recommendations to make it more efficient and help you save money on your water bill.
If you implement the changes they suggest, such as removing a sprinkler zone or converting to drip irrigation, SAWS will provide you with a rebate that can amount to hundreds of dollars!
We had a SAWS Irrigation Consultation last year and ended up removing two sprinkler zones in an area where we planned to remove turf grass and convert it into a garden bed. We received a $600 rebate to help cover the costs!
Watersaver Landscape Coupon
Is your lawn struggling in this heat? SAWS will give you a $100 Watersaver Landscape Coupon if you remove 200 square feet of turf grass and convert it to a drought-tolerant garden bed. You can apply for up to four coupons each year!
Here is how the same area of our yard looked after we removed the St. Augustine grass and replaced it with native Texas plants. Now we have a beautiful garden where we used to have a patch of dead grass in the heat of summer!
Head to the SAWS WaterSaver Rewards programs page to learn more about the other great water conservation rebates they offer and get started saving!
If you’d like to learn more about awesome drought-tolerant plants to add to your yard, be sure to check out my Top 15 Native Texas Plants to Grow!
