Skip to main content
Back to Blog

St. Louis Rain Garden Grants: MSD Project Clear Pays Up to $4,000 for Rainscaping

by Stephen
A St. Louis front yard rain garden in a shallow planted basin with swamp milkweed and cardinal flower, brick home behind

The short version

  • MSD Project Clear Rainscaping Small Grants reimburse up to $4,000 for rain gardens, native plantings, and permeable pavement in the MSD service area (MSD Project Clear small grants page, last verified July 2026).
  • It is a reimbursement grant run with the Missouri Botanical Garden: you pay for the project, then get reimbursed, typically 4 to 5 months after completion.
  • Applications are paper only, by mail or hand delivery, and you must complete an orientation video and survey before applying.
  • Do not start installation until your application is approved and you have a Notice to Proceed; starting early forfeits the grant.
  • Landowners may receive only one award across MSD rainscaping programs, and River des Peres area funds may be waitlisted until July 2026.

Quick answer

The MSD Project Clear Rainscaping Small Grants Program reimburses up to $4,000 for rain gardens, native plantings, permeable pavement, and other stormwater features in the MSD service area around St. Louis (MSD Project Clear small grants page, last verified July 2026). It is a reimbursement grant with a paper-only application, an orientation video requirement, and a hard rule: do not start installing until you have a Notice to Proceed.

St. Louis does not have a classic turf-removal rebate. What it has is arguably better for a native yard: a grant program run by MSD Project Clear with the Missouri Botanical Garden that pays for rainscaping, planted features that soak up stormwater instead of sending it to the sewer. A front-yard rain garden full of Missouri natives is exactly the kind of project it funds.

What the grant pays

Small Grants reimburse up to $4,000 for rainscaping projects: rain gardens, native plantings, permeable pavement, and similar stormwater management features (MSD Project Clear small grants page, last verified July 2026). Note the word reimburse. You pay for the project up front, submit a completion packet, and the money arrives afterward, typically 4 to 5 months after completion. Budget for that gap.

The process is old-school, follow it exactly

  • •Check the online service-area map first; the property must be inside the MSD Project Clear service area.
  • •Complete the orientation video and survey before applying.
  • •Mail or hand-deliver the application. Electronic applications are not accepted.
  • •Wait for approval and a Notice to Proceed before any installation. Starting early forfeits the grant.
  • •Install, then submit the Project Completion Packet and wait for reimbursement.

Applications are rolling, with no deadlines, but funds are not unlimited: River des Peres area funds may be waitlisted until July 2026, and landowners may only receive one award across MSD rainscaping programs. The Deer Creek Watershed Alliance runs a separate program, and one award is the ceiling across them.

What to plant in a St. Louis rain garden

A rain garden works because the plants in the basin tolerate both standing water after a storm and dry stretches between them. Missouri natives that handle that swing well include swamp milkweed (Asclepias incarnata), a monarch host with pink summer blooms, cardinal flower (Lobelia cardinalis), whose red spikes pull in hummingbirds, and buttonbush (Cephalanthus occidentalis) for a larger shrub anchor (native ranges per the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center). The Missouri Botanical Garden reviews the plans, publishes a sample landscaping plan, and its plant guidance is the standard to design against in the St. Louis area.

Last verified

The $4,000 cap, the paper-only rule, the orientation requirement, and the Notice to Proceed gate here reflect the program as of July 2026. Confirm the current terms on our MSD Project Clear program guide or the official small grants page before you plan. For other states' programs, see the rebates directory.

Keep a 5-month paper trail without losing it

The Pollinator Patch app tracks the MSD grant for free: the orientation and Notice to Proceed steps in the right order, and a photo locker that holds your before photos, receipts, and completion packet documents across the months a reimbursement takes.

See the MSD program guide