The City of Chandler will extend and revise its water conservation rebate programs starting January 1, 2026, following a recent resolution by the City Council. The changes are intended to encourage ongoing participation and maintain funding for these initiatives.
Key updates include extending the single-family grass removal rebate while reducing the payment from $2.00 to $1.50 per square foot and lowering the maximum rebate from $3,000 to $2,000. The large landscape grass removal rebate will also be extended with its maximum reduced from $75,000 to $20,000. Additionally, the water efficient technology rebate program will now cover installation costs and modify Chandler’s grant agreement with the Water Infrastructure Finance Authority of Arizona by reducing available funding to $600,000.
According to city officials, “These water conservation rebate programs and policies are being amended to promote continued participation and ensure funding availability.”
Grass removal rebates for both residential and commercial customers have seen increased use since October 2023 when previous changes were made as part of Chandler’s drought preparedness plan.
For single-family homes, raising the rebate rate from $.20 to $2.00 per square foot and lowering the minimum area requirement led to a 120% increase in participation. Between 2022-2023, residents removed 132,000 square feet of grass in exchange for rebates totaling $25,000. Since October 2023 alone, an additional 133,000 square feet was replaced with xeriscape landscaping through rebates amounting to $240,000.
Large landscape projects also saw significant growth after adjustments allowed coverage of up to 25% of project costs with a higher cap. This resulted in a 260% increase in participation and a tripling of total grass removed compared to prior years. In 2022-2023 five homeowners associations used this program for removing 94,000 square feet at a cost of $15,000 in rebates; since October last year that figure rose sharply with 371,000 square feet removed via rebates totaling $770,000.
Chandler introduced its water efficient technology rebate program in October 2023 offering reimbursement for half the cost—up to a maximum of $10,000—for installing technologies that allow real-time monitoring of water use. Outreach efforts targeted commercial facility managers across businesses using cooling towers as well as property managers overseeing plazas or HOA communities. Since then thirteen customers have been approved for this new incentive totaling $171,000 in rebates.
“Learn more about Chandler’s water conservation efforts,” city officials said.
