![[Water Resources Program]](http://njaes.rutgers.edu/_common/images/subheads/waterresourceprog.gif "[Water Resources Program]"){kind=small}
Rain Garden Rebate Program
Keep the rain from the drain with a rain garden for cleaner water in your local stream.
A rain garden is a landscaped area that collects rain and lets it soak into the ground.
The Rutgers Cooperative Extension (RCE) Water Resources Program has partnered with the New Jersey Water Supply Authority (NJWSA) Watershed Protection Program to offer rebates to homeowners that build rain gardens. This program was initially piloted in Somerville, NJ during the summer of 2013 and has since expanded to Bridgewater, Raritan, and Hillsborough. Click here to see the rain gardens installed to date as part of the Rain Garden Rebate Program!
The Rain Garden Rebate Program educates residents on how they can build beautiful gardens that help keep the rain from the drain. Community workshops are offered to teach homeowners about rain gardens. These workshops focus on the design of the rain garden and what plants can be used. Technical workshops are offered where designers provide homeowners with custom rain garden designs for their property.
Rebates are provided to homeowners to offset the cost to install a rain garden on their property. Rebates are in the amount of $3 per square foot of garden up to $450 per lot.
To qualify for a rebate, the homeowner must:
- First, attend one community workshop
- Second, after attending the community workshop, attend a technical workshop to meet with a Rutgers design professional to plan and lay out your garden
or
design a rain garden on your own and have it approved by the RCE Water Resources Program - Third, install a rain garden
We also work with community members to construct demonstration rain gardens as part of this project. We feel this helps encourage homeowners to participate in the rain garden rebate program!
