Quick answer: Most Texas water rebates do not stack the way people hope. Which program you can use depends on who sends your water bill, and around Austin that usually means one program, not two. Whichever one covers you, apply before you break ground, because work started before approval does not qualify.
Most Texas homeowners have heard of Austin's landscape rebate. Fewer know the Lower Colorado River Authority runs a second program that covers many of the suburbs. An earlier version of this post said the two combine for Austin homes. They do not. LCRA's rebate page says City of Austin customers are eligible for rebates from Austin Water. Here is how to tell which program covers your address.
Austin Water: WaterWise Landscape
Austin Water's WaterWise Landscape rebate pays up to $3,000 to convert turf grass to a native plant bed (Austin Water, Rebates, Tools and Programs page, checked October 2026). At least 75% of the area you convert has to be healthy turf grass going in, and the new bed needs more than 50% plant cover once the plants reach mature size. Any work started before Austin Water approves the project will not qualify.
Installs happen in spring or fall. Austin Water does not allow summer installs, and it says you should receive the rebate within six to eight weeks of project completion. You do not have to be a direct Austin Water customer either. The same page lists other providers whose customers qualify, including the City of Rollingwood, the City of Sunset Valley, Wells Branch MUD, and Shady Hollow MUD.
LCRA WaterSmart: for homes on LCRA water
WaterSmart is for LCRA's own domestic use customers and for residents who get water from one of LCRA's firm water customers. The turf conversion rebate pays $0.50 per square foot, up to $2,000, for converting at least 200 square feet of healthy turf grass to native garden beds or drought-tolerant landscape. It requires pre-approval. Across all WaterSmart rebates, LCRA pays 50% of your cost, up to $3,000 per residential property (LCRA WaterSmart Rebates page, checked October 2026).
LCRA's list of eligible firm water customers, dated August 18, 2026, includes the City of Cedar Park, the City of Leander, the City of Pflugerville, the City of Dripping Springs, Lakeway MUD #1, and West Travis County PUA, along with dozens of smaller districts. The City of Round Rock and Georgetown are not on it. Your water bill names your provider, so check the bill against the list before you plan anything.
Example: 300 sqft conversion in Cedar Park
LCRA WaterSmart turf conversion pays $0.50 per square foot (minimum 200 sqft, up to $2,000), so 300 sqft comes to $150. Pre-approval is required before any turf comes out. Check the LCRA program page for current rates before applying.
Where two programs can meet
A few cities on LCRA's list also run a landscape rebate of their own. Pflugerville is one. The city has its own program, Pflourishing Flora, and the City of Pflugerville is also on LCRA's eligible list. Neither program's page says whether both will pay for the same square footage, so ask each one before you count on two checks.
Leander is the opposite case. Its turf conversion rebate is run through LCRA WaterSmart, so that is one rebate, not two. Georgetown runs its own conservation rebates through gtx.conservationrebates.com and is not on LCRA's list.
North Texas: Save Tarrant Water
The Go N Grow Garden rebate from Save Tarrant Water pays $95 to Tarrant County residents who replace 125 square feet of grass with one of its native garden kits (Save Tarrant Water, Texas Landscape Incentives page, checked October 2026). It is a small rebate, and worth the application if you are doing a conversion anyway.
The one rule that trips everyone up
Austin Water and LCRA both require approval before the work starts. If you plant first and apply second, you get nothing. The sequence that works:
- •Find your water provider on your bill.
- •Check which program, or programs, list that provider.
- •Submit every pre-application before breaking ground.
- •Wait for written approval from each program.
- •Do the work and document it the way each program asks. They differ.
- •Submit completion documents to each program separately.
For a full breakdown of Texas rebate programs by city and utility, see our Texas Water Rebates page.
Plan your yard with the Pollinator Patch App
See which native plants fit your Texas zip code and build a planting plan you can submit with a rebate application.
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