Moulton Niguel Water District

The Moulton Niguel Water District has offered a variety of turf conversion incentives since the 1900’s, including a recently launched NatureScape Turf-to-Native Garden Program. Simultaneously, the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California (MWD), Moulton’s wholesale water provider, offers complementary programs to further encourage turf removal, and plans to launch a Landscape Transformation Program this summer that emphasizes California native plants in marketing materials. The combined programs are expected to significantly drive demand for these native plants. In anticipation of this market shift, Moulton applied to the WaterNow Project Accelerator seeking support to develop a Nursery Stock Incentive and Education Program to ensure that supply will meet demand.

WaterNow partnered with Moulton and the California Native Plant Society to develop a program that provides the education and tools necessary for nurseries to adapt their business models to accommodate the seasonality of native plant stock. To incentivize nursery engagement, Moulton plans to offer vouchers or rebates for customers to redeem at participating local nurseries. We expect to amplify the success of this program by collaborating with MWD and the other 25 city and water agencies they serve to bring this program to a regional scale.