The short answer is no. No water rebate on the Wasatch Front pays for artificial turf. Not the state program, and not any of the water districts that serve our cities.
We install turf for a living. We'd still rather you hear this from us now than from a rebate office after the work is done.
What every Wasatch Front program says about turf
Most lawn rebates on the Wasatch Front run through one site, Utah Water Savers. Weber Basin uses its own MyWater site. The money comes from four programs, and each one leaves turf out in its own words.
- Jordan Valley (Draper, Herriman, Bluffdale and other valley cities on its list): "Incentives will not be provided for water features, artificial turf, or impervious hardscapes." Read the rules.
- Weber Basin (all of Davis, Weber, Morgan and Summit counties, so Layton and Ogden): it lists "Replacing lawn with artificial turf, concrete, or other hard surfaces" as not eligible. Read the rules.
- Central Utah (much of Utah County, plus Salt Lake City and other cities on its list): turf is on its list of things it won't pay for. Read the rules.
- The state program (other cities that adopted the state's landscape rules): "Water efficient landscaping does NOT include; artificial turf, a swimming pool, water feature, or concrete." Read the rules.
Four programs, one answer. The Utah Water Savers site also says why. It says turf can cause more environmental harm than it saves in water, so the programs won't pay for it.
You don't have to agree with that view to plan around it. You just need to know it before you sign anything.
Want the rates and rules for each one? See Utah water rebates by district.
What the rebates actually pay for
These are lawn swap programs, and the swap has to be alive. They pay you to take out living grass and put in water-wise plants on drip. They pay by the square foot. Rates differ from city to city and change often, so we don't list them here.
The rules are strict, and they are the same kind of strict in every district.
- Plant cover. Jordan Valley and Central Utah want plants to cover at least half the new beds when grown. Weber Basin asks for at least 35%.
- Drip only. New beds need drip irrigation, not spray heads.
- A living lawn to start. Utah Water Savers says a dormant lawn is fine and a neglected lawn is not.
- Approval first. You need a yes before any grass comes out. Skip it and you get nothing. Read why you apply before you dig.
Rock-only yards don't qualify either, for the same reason turf doesn't. A rebate pays for plants. If a planted yard is what you want, the program is real money and you should take it.
Where turf still fits in a rebate yard
There is one nuance, and it comes from Jordan Valley's own rules. Turf is "not eligible for incentives but are allowed within the landscaped area." So in that district, turf can sit in part of the yard while the planted part earns the rebate.
The turf earns nothing. It just doesn't knock the planted part out.
That is how a lot of families get both. The kids and the dog get a green play area that never needs water. The rest of the lawn becomes beds on drip, and that part gets paid.
We walk through the plan in how turf and a rebate yard fit together. It walks through a sample yard.
Two cautions before you draw it up. Jordan Valley and Central Utah cap hard surfaces at half of a front yard and three quarters of a back yard, and Jordan Valley counts turf on that side. Park strips have rules of their own, too.
Our park strip guide covers what you can and can't do with the strip by the curb.
If you skip the rebate
Then none of these rules touch your turf. You still stop watering the turf area every summer. That saving comes back each year, and a rebate is a check that comes once.
Which one is worth more depends on your yard, your bill and how much upkeep you want. We won't guess it for you. Bring a recent water bill and we'll run the numbers with you.
In Utah County? Our Utah County rebate page goes deeper on that county.
Anywhere else, start with our Utah page. Or look at turf for your lawn.
When you're ready, see our work or send us your address. We'll tell you what your district covers before you spend a dollar.
