Pull the grass. Plant the desert. Cash the city's rebate.
Nearly every AZ water utility was built to pay this exact conversion — replacing thirsty grass with low-water desert plants, decomposed granite, and drip irrigation. That's what the rebate budget was written for. 10 of the 12 programs we track only pay for live xeriscape — turf doesn't qualify. If you're open to a true desert yard, you're in the rebate sweet spot.
Why grass-to-desert is the rebate path of least resistance.
Phoenix-area residential outdoor water use averages 70 gallons per square foot of grass per year. A 1,500 sqft front lawn drinks 105,000 gallons annually — most of it evaporating before the roots see it. Desert landscape, designed right, runs on 5–15 gallons per sqft per year. That's the math your utility is paying you to fix.
When AZ water rebates were first written — Mesa in the 1990s, Tucson before that — they were drafted around live, low-water replacements: mesquite, palo verde, brittlebush, agave, ocotillo, lantana, Texas sage, and a deep layer of decomposed granite. Artificial turf came later, and most cities never updated the rule.
That's why a true desert conversion almost always unlocks the full per-sqft rate, the full cap, and the cleanest inspection. The inspector already has a checklist for it. AE has built hundreds of these — and our plant plans are designed to clear the qualifying-plant list on the first walk-through.
Our job: maximize the qualifying square footage, hit the plant density requirement exactly, and make sure your pre-inspection happens before a single blade is cut.
The qualifying recipe (most AZ cities, simplified):
- Live, low-water plants from the utility's qualifying list. Typical minimum is 50% plant coverage at mature size — about one plant per 100 sqft for shrubs/trees.
- 2–3″ of decomposed granite as the inorganic ground cover (not bark, not rubber mulch).
- Drip irrigation on a smart controller — emitters sized to each plant. Sprinkler heads must be removed or capped.
- No exposed bare dirt at final inspection — that's the #1 reason post-inspection rejections happen.
Built to clear the qualifying list.
From "do I qualify?" to "rebate deposited" in six steps.
12 active AZ programs — ranked by xeriscape fit.
Avondale offers a per-square-foot rebate to replace grass with desert landscape.
Chandler offers a per-square-foot rebate to homeowners who replace live grass with desert-friendly landscaping.
Gilbert reimburses homeowners who convert live turf to low-water landscape.
Glendale offers a per-square-foot rebate for converting grass to low-water landscape.
Mesa pays residential customers to permanently remove live, irrigated grass and replace it with low-water desert landscaping.
Phoenix reimburses single-family customers who convert grass to low-water landscape.
Queen Creek offers a residential rebate for converting grass to low-water landscape.
Scottsdale Water offers one of Arizona's highest per-square-foot rebates for removing live grass.
Surprise reimburses residential customers for converting grass to low-water desert landscape.
Tempe offers a rebate for replacing irrigated grass with low-water landscape.
Goodyear offers a per-square-foot rebate for replacing grass with low-water landscape.
Peoria pays residents to replace grass with low-water desert landscape.
Design, install, paperwork. You sign and cash the credit.
- Lookup of every active AZ xeriscape program
- Site measurement — every qualifying sqft (sideyards, parkways, fence strips)
- Pre-conversion photos to city spec
- Plant plan tuned to the city's qualifying list + your HOA palette
- Code-compliant install (ROC-licensed crew)
- Drip layout, smart-controller programming, sprinkler removal
- Post-inspection photo + plant-density packet
- Guardian Hub tracking from photo #1 to credit paid
Three things, max.
- Sign the application packet AE prepares
- Submit it to the city (we tell you exactly how)
- Accept the bill credit or deposit the check
Real questions, real answers.
▸Does desert landscape look 'sparse' or boring?
▸How many plants do I need to qualify?
▸Can I keep my existing sprinkler system?
▸What about my HOA?
▸Will it survive the AZ summer?
▸Can I combine this with a tree-planting or shade rebate?
▸What if I want some turf for the dog?
Hybrid yards unlock both — desert border qualifies, turf core stays for the kids and pets.
If you need a durable surface for dogs, kids, or a putting green, we design a hybrid: a qualifying xeriscape perimeter (the part the city pays for) plus artificial turf in the active-use zone. Same rebate, different layout.
Every desert yard is community water.
A 1,500 sqft grass-to-desert conversion saves roughly 90,000 gallons per year — the same water that feeds the parks our Shop With a Cop and Day of Giving events use. We didn't build a company that gives back — we built a company on giving back. Pulling thirsty grass is one of the most direct ways your yard contributes.
See your desert rebate in 90 seconds.
Enter your address and lawn square footage. Our AI walks you through your city's xeriscape program, calculates your honest rebate, and emails you a printable application kit. No spam. No "call for pricing."