IWA received an Urban and Multibenefit Drought Relief Grant (UMDRG) from the Department of Water Resources to fund the IWA Disadvantaged Community Turf Replacement Program.
In the spring of 2024, IWA received an amendment to this grant to include “direct payments” for replacing turf. This allows IWA to provide funding to IWA’s disadvantaged community (DAC) customers, so the customers don’t have to upfront the costs before the grant funds are disbursed, which is a hardship for IWA’s DAC communities. This program complements IWA’s Turf Replacement Program which replaces turf with xeriscape and low-efficiency devices with high-efficiency devices by a landscape contractor at “no cost” to IWA’s DAC customers.
For the last quarter of 2024, IWA replaced turf along Miles Avenue as part of the Disadvantaged Community Turf Removal Program to help low-income communities save water. The program consists of turf removal and related improvements for desert adaptive landscaping/xeriscape within disadvantaged community areas in the City of Indio.
