City Offers Landscaping Grants to Help Reduce Outdoor Water Use and Runoff

The City of Plymouth is offering grants to promote landscaping strategies that reduce irrigation and storm water runoff.  Grant projects will demonstrate practices that lead to cleaner lakes and save money in both the short and long term. 

The deadline to apply is April 26.

Runoff from lawns and impervious surfaces like driveways, sidewalks and patios washes pollutants into local lakes, streams and wetlands. This can result in more algae, clouded water and poor water quality. Cleaning up these water resources is a long and costly process.

At the same time, water use in the City of Plymouth triples during the summer months due to lawn irrigation. It is costly to build and maintain an infrastructure to support the seasonal high demand for water.

The good news is that it is possible to have a beautiful landscape and reduce water use and runoff at the same time. The City of Plymouth has developed a grant program  to support these practices and demonstrate their benefits.

Property owners, community associations, businesses, schools, non-profits and other community organizations are eligible to apply for the grants. Up to $500 may be awarded for eligible projects. The total amount available in 2013 is $5,000.

Eligible activities include:

• Replace portions of lawn with plants that require less irrigation, fertilizer or chemicals;
• Reduce impervious surfaces through plantings, pervious pavers or other means;
• Increase native plants (grasses, ground covers, flowers, shrubs, trees);
• Install a rain garden;
• Create a buffer area of native plants near a lake, wetland or creek;
• Conserve water through the use of moisture sensors on irrigation systems, rain barrels, xeriscape or other water conservation techniques.

Information and applications are available online by going to plymouthmn.gov/greenup. For more information, call 763-509-5500.