Graywater: Laundry to Landscape Rebate
Save Water Outdoors
Don't let good water go to waste! Imagine using water from your clothes washer to help grow the plants in your garden. Using graywater can reduce the amount of drinking water used for landscape irrigation and reduce water entering our sewer system.
What is graywater?
Graywater is water from showers, bathtubs, clothes washing machines, and bathroom sinks. It is water that contains some soap but is clean enough to water plants. For more information about graywater and its approved uses, please read our Graywater FAQ. For laundry-to-landscape (L2L) systems, only graywater from clothes washing machines is used and only for sub-surface irrigation.
What plants grow best with graywater?
Some plant types that do well with graywater irrigation include fruit trees, berries, and riparian plants that like irrigation (willow, maple, birch, water-loving plants). Common plant types not recommended to be irrigated with a graywater supply include root crops, drought-tolerant plants, turf grass, and highly sensitive plants like some ferns and avocados.
Rebate Program Details
The SFPUC’s Laundry-to-Landscape (L2L) Graywater Rebate Program provides qualifying customers who install a L2L graywater system at a single-family or two-unit multi-family property in San Francisco a rebate up to $100 off the purchase cost of three essential L2L graywater components:
- Schedule 40 PVC pipe – Rebate not to exceed $25
- One (1) full port diverter valve/three-way valve – Rebate not to exceed $50
- One (1) air admittance valve (auto-vent or inline vent) – Rebate not to exceed $25
Eligibility Requirements
- The applicant must have an active SFPUC water service account or obtain approval by the account holder (the water account number for the installation site is required to apply).
- The L2L system must be installed at a single-family or two-unit residential property in San Francisco with a flat yard or a yard that slopes down from the location of the clothes washer.
- If the water account holder does not own the property, a Property Owner Release Form signed by the property owner is required.
- The property must have a working clothes washer that is at or above the landscape grade.
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How to Participate
Review these steps, take the required training, and make sure you have compiled the documentation required to get a rebate before you apply.
- Review the training training presentation (required).
The training presentation explains what materials are required and provides a step-by-step description of how to successfully install a L2L system.
- Review the Graywater Design Manual for Outdoor Irrigation.
The Graywater Design Manual provides detailed additional step-by-step guidance on designing, installing, and maintaining a L2L system and other residential graywater systems.
- Purchase your L2L components and save receipts.
Save the receipt (s) that shows what you paid for the three essential components eligible for rebate: PVC pipe, three-way valve, and auto-vent.
- Install and photograph your L2L system.
Use the training presentation and manual for guidance during installation. Take a photo of your installed three-way valve, your clothes washer, and the landscape area irrigated by your L2L graywater. If your photos aren’t sufficient, we may require a site visit to confirm your L2L system is installed and functioning properly.
- Assemble documentation.
Before you start your application, gather the following materials and information you’ll need: your SFPUC water account number, photos described in Step 4 above, and a photo (or scan in pdf format) of your receipts.
- Apply online for a L2L rebate at the Online Application Portal.
- If you haven’t applied for any previous SFPUC conservation assistance, you’ll be prompted first to register for our application portal; you’ll need your SFPUC water account number (available on a bill) to register
- Once you have registered for the application portal, click “APPLY NOW" under the Laundry-to-Landscape Rebate Icon and complete the application process.
- Complete, sign and email or mail a W9 form to the City Controller's Office (directions are provided in the online application.)
For questions about this rebate program and the steps involved, please email waterconservation@sfwater.org or call (415) 551-4730.
- Review the training training presentation (required).
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Resources
- L2L Training Presentation
- SAMPLE Application for L2L Rebate - printable for reference; note that actual applications should be submitted online; applicants without computer access should call (415) 551-4730.
- Graywater Design Manual
- Property Owner Release Form - for participants who are renters
- Program Terms & Conditions
More Graywater Links
- Greywater Action
- Wholly H2O
- Rainwater Harvesting Program
- Oasis Design
- San Francisco Water Efficient Irrigation Ordinance