LOS ANGELES — Even with a rainy couple of months behind us, California remains in the midst of a drought. 

To cut down water use, the West Basin Municipal Water District has launched a program offering a significant incentive to residents who opt to switch out their thirsty landscapes for a more drought tolerant garden to conserve water.

Ana Cevallos has lived in her home for 20 years, many of which have been spent in her garden where she waters and trims her rosemary for hours.

“It makes me relaxed and I like the house to be very beautiful with the flowers and all the colors,” Cevallos said.

But now, it also serves as an emotional reminder of time’s fragility. She said gardening has always been a pastime she has enjoyed with her husband. But he has grown very sick in the last two years and these days, he can only watch her from his wheelchair.

“He’s sicker every day and I don’t know what to do anymore,” she said through tears.

It’s part of the reason she’s decided now it’s time to switch out this grass for a landscape that requires less work and less water.

Cevallos qualifies for the West Basin Municipal Water District’s grass replacement rebate program. It offers up to $5 for every square foot of grass that has been removed and replaced with drought-tolerant plants.

Communications Manager Amy Rocha estimates Cevallos garden is about 1,100 square feet, so that is $5,500 dollars she will get back.

“Fifty percent of our water use is from outdoor watering. It is a great project example and hopefully it’s an inspiration to the neighborhood and the community to do something similar,” Rocha explained.

As she inspected other lawns in the neighborhood, Rocha said the program aims to reduce water usage.

They are offering additional incentives to areas like Hawthorne, Lawndale, Inglewood and parts of Carson, for residents who are disproportionately affected by pollution and other environmental and socioeconomic factors.

Rocha said the average resident in their South Bay service area uses about 135 gallons of water per day. They are encouraging residents to reduce that by about 15%.

“We had some great rains in December, but a dry January, and that’s just a fact of life in Southern California. There’s always these reoccurring periods of drought and so really conservation is a way of life,” she said. 

It is one Cevallos knows the importance of, and while she can always use the extra money from the rebate, she has been conscious of her water use.

Her grass started dying after she followed the city’s water restrictions that only allowed watering three days a week and now she has removed it to replace it with turf.

“Trying to do the better things for the environment,” she said.

To check to see if your home qualifies for the rebate program, visit the West Basin Municipal Water District website.