Water: turfgrass conversion.

Existing law establishes the Department of Water Resources within the Natural Resources Agency and prescribes the powers and responsibilities of the department. The Water Conservation in Landscaping Act provides for a model water efficient landscape ordinance that is adopted and updated at least every 3 years by the department, unless the department makes a specified finding. This bill would prohibit the department, when it allocates funding for turf replacement programs, from excluding urban water suppliers' turfgrass conversion rebate programs if the rebate program requires the recipient of a rebate to achieve a net water savings and to use the most efficient turfgrass irrigation equipment, as provided. The bill would require an urban water supplier that offers a turfgrass conversion rebate program using funds awarded by the department after January 1, 2025, to report annually to the department on the number of turfgrass conversions that are funded through the program and the estimated water savings from the program until the funds are exhausted.