LCRA WaterSmart Rebates: Up to $3,000 a Year for Turf Conversion in Central Texas

The Lower Colorado River Authority supplies water to a long list of Hill Country and Colorado River communities, and its WaterSmart program is one of the more generous residential rebates in Central Texas. It is also one of the easier ones to miss, because it is not run by your city. If you have never heard of it, check your water bill: if LCRA or an LCRA firm water customer is on it, you likely qualify.

What the rebates pay

WaterSmart covers 50 percent of your cost, up to $3,000 per residential property per year, across four rebate types (LCRA WaterSmart rebates page, last verified July 2026). The one most relevant to a native yard is turf conversion: $0.50 per square foot, up to $2,000, for converting at least 200 square feet of healthy turf to native or drought-tolerant landscaping. Rebates cover material costs, not labor or tax, so keep itemized receipts that separate the two.

Pre-approval comes first, the deadline comes last

Two rules trip people up. First, turf conversion requires pre-approval from LCRA before any work starts; email WaterSmart@lcra.org with your plan and wait for the yes. Second, once the work is done, you must submit the online application within 90 calendar days of completing it. Finish in March, file by June. Miss the window and the rebate is gone, no matter how good the project is.

One more paperwork note: if your rebates reach $600 in a year, LCRA requires a W-9, because the rebate counts as taxable income to you.

Who qualifies

You need a water account with LCRA or one of LCRA's firm water customers. That includes fast-growing Hill Country communities such as Leander, Cedar Park, and Marble Falls, where a lot of yards are still builder-grade turf on thin caliche soil. If you are not sure whether your utility buys from LCRA, ask them directly or check the WaterSmart page's participating utility list.

What to plant instead of the grass

Most of the LCRA service area sits on the Edwards Plateau (the Hill Country around Leander and Marble Falls), where shallow alkaline soil over limestone rules out a lot of nursery stock but suits the natives that evolved there. Blackfoot daisy (Melampodium leucanthum) holds a tidy white-flowered mound through heat, mealy blue sage (Salvia farinacea) blooms blue spring through fall, and autumn sage (Salvia greggii) gives you a compact shrub hummingbirds work all season (native ranges per the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center). All three read as intentional and HOA-friendly in a front bed.

How to apply, in order

• •Confirm your utility is LCRA or an LCRA firm water customer.
• •Email WaterSmart@lcra.org for turf conversion pre-approval before touching the lawn.
• •Convert at least 200 square feet to native or drought-tolerant landscaping, keeping itemized material receipts.
• •Submit the online application within 90 calendar days of finishing.
• •Include a W-9 if your rebates reach $600 for the year.

Last verified

The amounts, the 200 square foot minimum, the pre-approval requirement, and the 90-day filing window here reflect the LCRA WaterSmart Rebates as of July 2026. Programs change between funding years, so confirm the current terms on our LCRA WaterSmart program guide or LCRA's official rebates page before you plan around a number. More Texas programs are on the Texas rebates page.