A rebate program for replacing natural lawns with artificial turf has been reinstated by the region’s main water supplier, the San Diego County Water Authority.
The authority suspended the program in June because of safety concerns, but those have been resolved, it said Monday. Other local water districts that had likewise suspended their programs are expected to follow suit.
Homeowners and public agencies get rebates of varying amounts per square foot for installing the synthetic turf. The authority offers 50 cents a square foot for residential customers and 75 cents a square foot for public entities. Local water districts can add more on top of that.
The city of Poway’s reinstated offer provides a total of $1 per square foot, including rebates from the authority.
Artificial turf has become more realistic with newer varieties of grass-like green vinyl strands that are softer than older turf and cushioned with minced rubber from chopped-up automobile tires. These newer varieties cost from $6 to $10 per square foot, and can last 10 years or longer.
Concerns about lead contamination of artificial turf in New Jersey led to the halt in the rebates on June 26. However, those worries were rebutted in a July 30 report from the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission.
The report indicated that newer fields either had no lead or generally had the lowest lead levels. None of the fields tested released enough lead to be harmful to children.
Moreover, rebate applications will be accepted retroactively to the suspension date of June 26.
Contact staff writer Bradley J. Fikes at (760) 739-6641 or bfikes@nctimes.com. This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it
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Posted by Kara Abendroth
August 5th 2008
