1. Applicants may only apply once per year.
   
   
2. Applicant must own the property or have owner authorized letter to be eligible.
   
   
3. Applicant must be a City of Bend water utility account holder; the Applicant's utility account must be in good standing.
   
   
4. Applicant must submit a complete application form; incomplete applications could be denied and returned to Applicant or result in a delay of the issued reservation number.
   
   
5. The City may contact the Applicant by phone or email to verify the information provided in the application and/or to schedule an inspection.
   
   
6. Property must have an operational and dedicated irrigation system complete with a backflow; no hose end, hose bib, or manual setups are eligible.
   
   
7. Eligible projects are subject to available funds; after successful application completion, a reservation number will be granted during the approval to proceed, which will solidify the holding of funds.
   
   
8. The City of Bend reserves the right to modify or terminate the program anytime. 

General Requirements

1. The irrigation system must be in good working order and free of leaks and malfunctions.
   
   
2. Project must be applied to the entire irrigation zone(s), may not result in a mixed hydrozone.
   
   
3. Right-of-way trees must be protected, remain healthy, and cannot be removed as part of the project.
   
   
4. Impervious surfaces added within the project area do not qualify for the rebate (ex., plastic, concrete, asphalt, etc.).
   
   
5. To ensure water savings are achieved, all converted landscapes and irrigation hardware upgrades must be maintained for a period of at least five (5) years; if this requirement is violated, the applicant may be required to refund all or a portion of the rebate.
   
   
6. The system shall have no run-off, overspray, or other water waste as defined by Bend Code 14.20.30.
   
   
7. The system shall not contribute illicit discharge (ex., pollutants, sediment, and garbage) to a stormwater system as defined by Bend Code 16.20.010.
   
   
8. Avoid the use of herbicides in the project site and adjacent stormwater infrastructure.
   
   
9. Projects must result in water savings, which will be measured after construction and plant establishment; an estimated water reduction will be calculated during the project consultation.
   
   
10. All equipment in a single zone must match; there must be no mixed equipment at the station.

Landscape Conversion Requirements

1. Existing areas to be converted must contain 75% or more healthy turf stands; non-living or unmaintained turf will not qualify. 

2. Only projects removing turf/grass qualify for a rebate; removal of existing hard surfaces or shrubs/plantings does not qualify.

3. Suggested methods of turf removal include sod removal and sheet mulching; sheet mulching is not acceptable in the Right-of-Way.

4. The converted area must be completely covered by a 3" layer of mulch permeable to both air and water; common mulch materials include rock and organic mulch.

5. Turf cannot be replaced with artificial turf or bare soils.

6. The converted area must not include any live lawn and invasive plant species.

7. The converted area must include sufficient qualifying water-efficient plants to ensure at least 50% plant coverage at maturity (approximately ten plants per 100 sq/ft).

8. Plantings are encouraged to be a low or very low water use plant (as referenced by the OSU Extension WaterWise Gardening in Central Oregon publication).

9. Establishing plant cover from seed is ineligible.

10. Pervious pathways (ex., decomposed granite, gravel, ungrouted flagstones, stone slabs) will qualify if they overall plant density meets the total plant coverage requirement.

11. New plantings in the converted areas must be irrigated with drip irrigation.

12. If the converted area is greater than 8ft. wide, high-efficiency irrigation with a precipitation rate equal to or less than 1 in/hr. may be used if the following conditions are met: does not produce runoff or overspray of any kind and must have a Distribution Uniformity (DU) of 70% or greater. 

• The effective start date of the program is April 1 and ends October 31; all approved projects must be completed by October 31 to accommodate the end of the irrigation season.

• Participate in a Project Consultation with a City of Bend representative prior to any work or turf removal; all consultations shall occur during regular business hours.

• The project must be completed within the required time period of 90 days from the project approval date; extensions may be granted with notification of the City of Bend prior to the end of the irrigation season, October 31.

• Participate in a Follow-Up Evaluation with a City of Bend representative after the project is completed; all inspections shall occur during regular business hours.

• All receipts and invoices must be itemized and submitted at the completion of the project before the rebate is issued.

• Applicants are required to complete and sign an Internal Revenue Service Q-9 form for rebates of $600 or greater before rebates can be applied or issued.

• The rebate will be $3 per sq. ft. of removed turf; the maximum rebate amount is $3,000.

• Rebate will be administered through a check to the Applicant within 60 days of final approval.

• With participant permission, staff may be allowed to take photos of landscapes prior to, during, and after being renovated; additionally, photos and water consumption history may be used for reproduction or promotional purposes. 

• Completed projects must be maintained and remain in compliance with all program terms and conditions for a period of five (5) years following receipt of the rebate. 

• Commercial and Multi-family customers must include the landscape contractor, who is performing the site work, in the project consultation.  

Check out these before and after pictures of turf removal projects.

2024

2023