LAREDO — Laredo Utilities staff told the Utilities Advisory Committee on Thursday that the city is developing an incentive program to encourage homeowners to replace high-water lawns with low-water landscaping and that staff expects to return with a formal proposal by March 2026.

The proposal would pair existing drought-tier restrictions and the city’s tiered billing system with direct incentives for property owners who shift to drought-tolerant plants, staff said. “We have up to until March ’26 to come up with a plan,” the director (identified in the meeting as “Dr. G”) told the committee.

Why it matters: Committee members said residential irrigation and small lawns contribute significant summertime water use. Staff and members framed incentives as a way to lower peak consumption and reduce complaints stemming from high summer bills.

Staff said the city currently uses a drought-tier approach to limit irrigation when conditions worsen and a tiered billing structure that raises rates at higher usage volumes. “So if you stay within certain volume, a certain volume, you’re at the lowest bracket. The moment you get to the next one, it gets a little bit more expensive,” Dr. G said during the meeting.

On incentives, Dr. G described a model similar to a program used in San Antonio that subsidized purchases at partner nurseries and required proof of conversion; he said Laredo does not yet have the compliance infrastructure to ensure homeowners follow through. “We don’t have that compliance system yet to know if people just gonna do it or not,” Dr. G said. He suggested the city would seek partner nurseries or nonprofits to administer subsidies or distribution and indicated several subsidy amounts were under consideration during discussion (examples cited by staff included figures like $100 or $300 as possible subsidy levels).

Committee members suggested volunteer distribution, nonprofit partners and partnerships with groups that plant trees or supply plants to residents. One committee member referenced the local nonprofit “Keeper Real Beautiful” as a potential partner.

Staff asked the committee to treat the item as an action/feedback item for future meetings. Dr. G asked members to discuss possible approaches with their councilmembers and return comments before March 2026.

The committee did not take a formal vote on the program at Thursday’s meeting; staff requested feedback and time to develop a formal proposal.