What Is A Rain Garden?
A rain garden is a shallow landscaped depression that captures, cleans, and absorbs rainwater from a roof, driveway or street. Watch this 2-minute video to learn more.
By positioning a rain garden at least 10 feet from your property and directing rainwater runoff into the rain garden you redirect moisture away from your building’s foundation. Rain gardens are a great way to reduce localized flooding, standing water issues, and stormwater runnoff leaving your property. Planted with deep-rooted native plants, rain gardens help filter out pollutants in runoff and provide food and shelter for pollinators, butterflies, and birds.
Rain Garden Before & After
Below are some below and after photos to demonstrate the possibilities! Move the slider left and right to view the images.
Rain Garden Rebate – Part of the Lawn Be Gone! Lawn Conversion Rebate Program
Get Paid to Transform Your Landscaping!
Be part of an innovative trend in landscaping and garden design. Replace your traditional lawn with a modern landscape that includes different plants, flowers, and landscape elements—such as a rain garden. The result will be an exciting and stylish landscape that is easy to maintain, conserves water, and provides long-term benefits to you and the environment.
The Bay Area Water Supply and Conservation Agency (BAWSCA) Lawn Be Gone! Program provides rebates to approved customers that convert water-thirsty lawns to water-efficient landscapes. To be eligible for this program an applicant must be a customer of one of the participating BAWSCA Member Agencies listed below:
Brisbane/Guadalupe Valley Municipal Improvement District
Lawn Be Gone! Rebate: $1/sq. ft.
Rain Garden Rebate: $300
Burlingame
Lawn Be Gone! Rebate: $1/sq. ft. (max of $500)
Rain Garden Rebate: $300
Foster City/Estero Municipal Improvement District
Lawn Be Gone! Rebate: $2/sq. ft. (max of $4,000 residential, $10,000 commercial)
No Rain Garden Rebate
Hillsborough
Lawn Be Gone! Rebate: $1/sq. ft.
No Rain Garden Rebate Program
Menlo Park
Lawn Be Gone! Rebate: $2/sq. ft.
Rain Garden Rebate: $300
Mid-Peninsula Water District
Lawn Be Gone! Rebate: $4/sq. ft.
Rain Garden Rebate: $300
Millbrae
Lawn Be Gone! Rebate: $1/sq. ft.
Rain Garden Rebate: $300
North Coast County Water District
Lawn Be Gone! Rebate: $4/sq. ft.
Rain Garden Rebate: $300
Redwood City
Lawn Be Gone! Rebate: $2/sq. ft.
Rain Garden Rebate: $300
San Bruno
Lawn Be Gone! Rebate: $2/sq. ft. (max of $1,000)
Rain Garden Rebate: $300
In addition to these terms and conditions, applicants for the Rain Garden Rebate Program must also adhere to the Rain Garden Rebate Criteria Checklist.
Resource Links, Sample Design Plans, & Informational Videos
- Resource Links
- Sample Design Plans
- Rain Garden 101 Video Series
- LA Dept. of Water & Power Video Series
- “Sustainably-Stylish Rain Gardens” Webinar
Rain Garden Design
Pre-conversation Checklist
Site layout
Planting Design
Mulch Resources
Design Assistance
- LA Department of Water & Power: Lawn Be Gone Landscape Design Tips and Step-By-Step Guidelines
- 7 Inspiring Lawn-Free Yards
- Irrigation Installation Guidelines from CalWEP
- List of ReScape-qualified design professionals
- Qualified Water Efficient Landscapers (QWEL) List
Local Plant Nurseries
- Bongard’s Treescape Nursery (Half Moon Bay)
- Golden Nursery (San Mateo)
- Half Moon Bay Nursery (Half Moon Bay)
- Mission Blue Nursery (Brisbane)
- Wegman’s Nursery (Redwood City)
- Yerba Buena Nursery (Half Moon Bay)
Rain Garden Construction
- Call 811 Before You Dig
- Rain garden rebate pre-and post-conversion site checklist
- Grading
- Lawn Demolition
- Construction Assistance
- Irrigation Assistance
Rain Garden Maintenance
- Maintenance Checklist
- Maintenance Assistance
Additional Resources
Watch the videos below to learn more about rain gardens. Receive an introduction to rain gardens, learn about rain garden design, construction, and maintenance, and learn about other green projects you can bring to your property that can have a positive impact on our water and the environment.
Haven, an assistant professor at UC Davis, is an environmental design pro who knows all the tricks to create a stylish and drought-tolerant garden with native plants that help protect our precious waterways from harmful runoff.
We’ll also discuss the local lawn conversion + rain garden rebate from Bay Area Water Supply and Conservation Agency (BAWSCA), which earns qualifying transformations at least $300 in financial support!
This webinar is from the San Mateo Countywide Water Pollution Prevention Program (Flows To Bay) and the Bay Area Water Supply and Conservation Agency (BAWSCA).