Xeriscape Landscape Conversion in Surprise, Arizona

For fiscal 2027, the City of Surprise pays single-family owners $2.00 per square foot of Bermuda grass removed, up to 1,000 square feet or $2,000, when the lawn is replaced with xeriscape (City of Surprise, Water Conservation Rebate parameters (06/23/2026)).

The turf rebate is one of five water efficiency rebates the city is accepting, alongside a WaterSense-labeled irrigation controller rebate, water-efficient rotary nozzles, a new home xeriscape rebate and turf removal for HOAs, commercial and multifamily properties (City of Surprise, Water Conservation). The city's reason is outdoor use: it says up to 70 percent of residential water use in the Phoenix metropolitan area occurs outdoors.

The city processes rebates on a first-received, first-served basis until the deadline or until funds are depleted; turf and new home xeriscape projects still in process after June 1, 2027 are processed in fiscal 2028 only if funding is still available, while controllers not installed and inspected by June 1, 2027 will not be paid (City of Surprise, Water Conservation Rebate parameters (06/23/2026)). Questions go to [email protected] (City of Surprise).

Last verified: October 19, 2026, by rereading the city's 06/23/2026 rebate parameters, its Water Conservation, Xeriscape Demonstration Garden and HOA pages, ADWR's landscaping page and the University of Arizona turf conversion bulletin for this Surprise lawn swap guide.

A Surprise resident who owns the home qualifies by removing at least 500 square feet of Bermuda grass, or the whole lawn if smaller (City of Surprise, Water Conservation Rebate parameters (06/23/2026)).

The grass has to be real lawn when the city sees it: bare dirt, or areas with less than 50 percent density of actively growing or dormant Bermuda, are not eligible (City of Surprise, Water Conservation Rebate parameters (06/23/2026)). The replacement has to be living, desert-adapted plants giving at least 30 percent canopy coverage, which the city says is to help mitigate the urban heat island effect; the expected mature size of the plants counts toward that coverage.

Every new plant must appear on the Arizona Department of Water Resources plant list for the Phoenix Active Management Area. Impermeable barriers such as plastic sheeting are not allowed, and fountains, pools and other water-intensive features may not go in the removal area (City of Surprise, Water Conservation Rebate parameters (06/23/2026)). Removal and installation must both begin and end inside the program window of July 1, 2026 through June 1, 2027, and applications missing required items such as photos or a W-9 are not processed.

Rebates carry tax paperwork: anyone receiving $600 or more in city rebates in a calendar year must submit a W-9 before payment, the city sends 1099 forms after December 31 each year, and it refers applicants to a tax professional for more information (City of Surprise, Water Conservation Rebate parameters (06/23/2026)).

In Surprise the city's steps put the application first, then a pre-turf removal inspection and an authorization to proceed email, then the removal (City of Surprise, Water Conservation Rebate parameters (06/23/2026)).

The city's single-family steps are: agree to the parameters, apply online through the Apply for Water Rebates button on the water conservation page, selecting the SFR turf removal option, and submit photos of the proposed removal area between July 1, 2026 and May 1, 2027; the city performs a pre-turf removal inspection at the parcel and emails an authorization to proceed if the project is acceptable (City of Surprise, Water Conservation Rebate parameters (06/23/2026)). After the work, the owner notifies Water Conservation staff before June 1, allows two weeks to schedule a post-removal inspection during normal business hours, and the city issues a rebate check if the parameters are met.

University of Arizona Cooperative Extension says the most effective way to remove a Bermuda lawn is to apply glyphosate while the turf is actively growing, with daytime temperatures above 80 degrees and nights above 55, and that more than one application may be needed (University of Arizona Extension, AZ2115).

For Surprise yards that keep trees or shrubs, the same extension bulletin warns that glyphosate now comes in many formulations, some containing other active ingredients that can cause permanent damage to plants, including killing them, and it points to a publication on effects on non-target plants such as trees and shrubs (University of Arizona Extension).

For a Surprise lawn swap, University of Arizona Cooperative Extension says a conversion begins with designing the new landscape, followed by removing the existing turf and irrigation, installing an alternative ground cover, and adding an appropriate irrigation system if necessary (AZ2115).

For trees that stay in a Surprise yard, the bulletin, dated March 2025, says that maintaining functional irrigation and protecting the root zone of existing trees that will stay is essential during and after construction, and that stress from the conversion can become apparent in remaining trees two or more years after the work is done (University of Arizona Extension). Because turf irrigation is removed before or during the conversion, it says irrigation must be kept or installed for existing trees, large shrubs and other plants that need consistent water, and that passive rainwater harvesting, shaping the soil into berms and basins, can supplement it.

In the extension's numbers, a Bermuda or Bermuda hybrid lawn with winter overseed in the Arizona low desert needs more than 55 inches of irrigation a year, while the average xeriscape needs less than 18 inches, and the bulletin cites the Arizona Municipal Water Users Association estimate that converting turf to xeriscape can cut outdoor water use by 50 percent (University of Arizona Extension). The bulletin notes that turf incentive programs in the Phoenix area generally require removing healthy turf and a minimum plant cover of 50 percent once the low water use plants mature; the Surprise single-family parameters set a 30 percent canopy minimum (City of Surprise).

For bills after the swap, City of Surprise water customers can track use and set leak alerts in the WaterSmart portal (City of Surprise, Drought Resiliency).

Plants count toward a Surprise rebate only if they appear on the Arizona Department of Water Resources Low Water Use and Drought Tolerant Plant List for the Phoenix Active Management Area (City of Surprise, Water Conservation Rebate parameters (06/23/2026)).

For the Phoenix Active Management Area list the Surprise rebate requires, ADWR says its Low Water Use and Drought Tolerant Plants Lists are developed with plant experts, are specific to each Active Management Area because the areas differ in elevation, temperature and precipitation, and are used by ADWR to regulate landscaping in medians and public rights-of-way irrigated with groundwater; it adds that they are not comprehensive lists of every plant that could suit other uses (Arizona Department of Water Resources, Landscaping). The lists are posted as PDFs and in a searchable online form that filters by AMA, including the Phoenix AMA 5th Management Plan list.

For the new home rebate, the city asks for the installed plant list with both common and scientific names and the number of each plant before it processes the $400, and artificial grass and hardscape such as pools, patios, pavers and driveways do not count toward landscaped area (City of Surprise, Water Conservation Rebate parameters (06/23/2026)). ADWR's landscaping page defines xeriscape as a landscaping method that employs drought-resistant plants to conserve resources, especially water (ADWR).

Surprise residents can see xeriscape up close in the city's one-acre Xeriscape Demonstration Garden at City Hall (City of Surprise, Xeriscape Demonstration Garden).

The garden sits on the north side of the City Hall campus at 16000 N. Civic Center Plaza and is open for public viewing from sunrise to sunset seven days a week (City of Surprise).

Its four zones cover low desert native plants, native compatible plants, a sensory garden and plants chosen for year-round bloom, set along concrete and granite paths around an amphitheater large enough for 40 people (City of Surprise). Master Gardeners, trained volunteers in partnership with University of Arizona Cooperative Extension who complete a 17-week course, hold free office hours on Saturdays from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. at the Water Education Center, 16126 N. Civic Center Plz., next to the garden (City of Surprise).

The city's workshop calendar, read October 19, 2026, lists Xeriscape Garden Tours on November 7, 2026 and February 6, March 6 and April 3, 2027, each from 9 to 10 a.m., along with irrigation efficiency and irrigation repair classes in October and November (City of Surprise, Water Conservation). For hired help, the city runs a no-cost Qualified Water Efficient Landscaping course of 20 or more hours for landscape professionals, with a $30 certification exam fee and an October class on October 21 and 28 and November 4, and it suggests hiring a Smartscape-trained professional (City of Surprise).

A Surprise homeowners association can apply for the city's HOA turf rebate of $2.00 per square foot, up to 6,000 square feet or $12,000, for removing at least 1,000 square feet of Bermuda grass (City of Surprise, Water Conservation Rebate parameters (06/23/2026)).

The HOA program follows the same July 1, 2026 to June 1, 2027 window and May 1, 2027 application deadline, requires the current owner or an authorized board or business officer to apply with a map of the proposed removal area and a square footage estimate, and bars unplanted bare soil as a result (City of Surprise, Water Conservation Rebate parameters (06/23/2026)). HOA, multifamily and commercial properties can also claim rotary nozzles at up to $5 each, up to $1,250 for as many as 250 nozzles (City of Surprise).

The city's HOA page says landscape irrigation accounts for 90 percent or more of all water used at many HOA properties, that many associations give plants more water than they need, and that significant water savings can come from simply adjusting sprinkler timers to match plant watering needs (City of Surprise, Water Conservation Tips for HOAs). City staff will help create a water budget plan; the Water Resource Management Department is at 623.222.6000, with after-hours water emergencies at 623.222.1990 (City of Surprise).