How to Get the Rainwater Rewards Program (Do-It-Yourself rain garden track)
City of St. Louis Park · Hennepin County, west Twin Cities metro, MN
This program is currently out of funds for now. Many rebate programs reopen each season or fiscal year. Check the official page below for the latest status before you plan a project.
What you get
The City publishes a fixed cost-share table: a rain garden is funded at 75 percent up to a maximum of $3,000, and rain barrels at $50 each up to three barrels ($150 maximum). Read the timing before planning anything, because the 2026 money is gone: the City states that overwhelming interest exhausted this year's funding and it is no longer accepting applications, directing residents to check back in 2027. When the program is funded, residential landowners may apply year-round until funds run out, the application must be approved before any work starts, and a project already started or finished when you apply is not eligible. Reimbursement is capped at the actual project cost, and in-kind or free services do not count as matching contributions, though contracted engineering or consulting fees are eligible. A maintenance agreement with the City is required (City of St. Louis Park Rainwater Rewards Program page; last verified August 2026).
- Residential: 75% of cost, up to $3,000 for a rain garden
Are you eligible?
- Be a City of St. Louis Park customer
- Property located in: St. Louis Park
- Residential landowner in St. Louis Park
- The application must be approved by the City before any work begins; projects started or completed when submitted are not eligible
- A maintenance agreement with the City is required so staff can inspect the practice
- Funding is limited to a single project and one rain barrel purchase per fiscal year
- In-kind or free services do not count as matching contributions; contracted engineering or consulting fees do
- Project must be completed within one year of application approval, or the agreed timeline
Before you start
Do not remove turf or begin work before you have written approval. This program requires pre-approval. Starting early can disqualify the project even if everything else is correct.
Application window: Applications accepted year-round until annual funds are gone. The 2026 funding is exhausted and the City is not accepting applications; it directs residents to check back in 2027.
Found during the 2026-08-17 discovery sweep. This one was invisible to two prior research passes because stlouisparkmn.gov returns an Akamai 403 to both WebFetch and curl; it was read in a real browser by the orchestrating session, which is the only reason the rate table was recoverable. Entered as exhausted rather than skipped, following the precedent set by the Summit SWCD Ohio grant on 2026-08-03: the program and its published rate are real and it reopens on an annual cycle, so listing it with an honest funding status serves a homeowner better than omitting it. Deliberately scoped to the DIY track only. The City also runs a separate rain garden LOTTERY with Metro Blooms, where the homeowner pays a $50 consultation fee and crews build the garden, but that track is limited to 30 households a year and is excluded under the settled lottery-capped exclusion. The rain barrel line ($50 each, three maximum) is an out-of-scope equipment rebate and is mentioned only for context, never as the headline amount.
What applying usually looks like
A general guide. Always confirm the exact steps on the official program page, since each provider runs its process a little differently.
- 1
Apply and get written approval first
Submit your application to City of St. Louis Park and wait for written approval before you remove any turf or start work. Starting early is the most common reason a rebate is denied.
- 2
Do the conversion
Replace your lawn with the qualifying landscaping, following the eligibility requirements above.
- 3
Submit your claim
After the work is done, submit your claim on the official program page. Confirm the exact forms, receipts, and any photos they require there, since those vary by program.
Every program listed cites its official source, and each program page shows the date we last verified it against that source. Program details change throughout the year, so always confirm requirements, amounts, and eligibility directly with the program before starting work. Pollinator Patch is not affiliated with any rebate program and does not guarantee approval.
See a problem with a program? Report it
Programs change throughout the year. If something here is out of date or wrong, tell us and we'll check it against the provider.