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The San Antonio Water System is now offering up to $500 in coupons to local customers willing to turn lawn space into water-saving plant beds.
SAWS customers have until October 15 to apply for the water-saving coupons to pay for the replacement of up to 800-square-feet of lawn with drought tolerant plants.
The coupons can be spent on qualifying plants at local nurseries.
Participants will need to upload project photos to share with SAWS before any plants are bought—and more photos after the new planting is done. Learn more at saws.org.
SAWS officials say now is a good time to plant.
“By pausing new planting until the fall, new plants will have all fall, winter and spring to establish their roots before the heat of next summer,” said SAWS Vice President of Conservation Karen Guz. “The new plants will be hardy, but when freshly planted, they still need TLC in the form of hand-watering.
“It is important to note that no variances will be given to run automatic irrigation more than once a week," she said. "Hand-watering your new plants won’t last long, but it is necessary.”
San Antonio entered its sixth summer under drought conditions this year, making a green lawn an uphill battle.