New Rebates

In California, the Long Beach Water Department will open a new round of rebates to local residents interested in changing their grass lawns to drought-tolerant landscaping in the interest of water conservation. Customers can apply for up to $2,500 worth of rebates by visiting lblawntogarden.com.

This is the second round of landscaping rebates, and the Water Department recently celebrated its one-hundredth successful conversion.

''We're really starting to see a culture change here in Long Beach,'' said Kevin Wattier, General Manager for the Long Beach Water Department. ''More and more people continue to jump on board each week, and I have little doubt that in the very near future California Friendly landscaping will be found in each and every neighborhood in the city.''

The department expects about 200 additional customers to complete their landscaping projects by Spring 2011.

''We now want to build on this momentum by offering additional residents and business owners the opportunity to take advantage of this great program,'' said Dr. Suzanne Dallman, President of the Long Beach Board of Water Commissioners.

The effort is part of the Water Department's much-publicized efforts to decrease daily water consumption in the city of Long Beach, as several consecutive years of drought in California have lowered reservoirs to dangerous levels and sparked serious discussion about raising bill rates and the possibility of water rationing.