Chandler Water Resources Manager Simone Kjolsrud, left, presents proposed conservation rebate rollbacks and other water information to the City Council on Nov. 10. Council approved the rebate rollbacks later that same week; the new rebates go into effect Jan. 1.
The city of Chandler’s been successful in getting residents, businesses and other water customers to take advantage of its water conservation rebate programs.
So successful, in fact, that the city has decided to roll back a few of those rebates.
The Chandler City Council unanimously approved a Nov. 13 consent agenda that included some rollbacks to how much city staff can credit several water-saving actions taken by users.
The changes go into effect Jan. 1, 2026.
Chandler’s water resources manager, Simone Kjolsrud, presented a robust water picture to Council at a Nov. 10 work session. She talked about shortages, droughts and other conditions that seemingly could impact the Valley’s overall water supply in the years ahead, but she also spent considerable time on Chandler water use itself.
“We’re one of the few communities that can say, even with population growth, we’re using roughly the same amount of gallons of water as we were 10 years ago,” Kjolsrud said about Chandler. “Some of that is technology and appliance efficiency. A lot of it is that our education about conserving is making a difference.”
Kjolsrud said on average, Chandler residential users are using 20% less water than 10 years ago — and fewer lawns at single-family homes seem to be part of that decrease.
“We’ve seen about the same amount of grass removal at homes in the past two years that we did in the previous two, even though participation has gone up,” Kjolsrud said. “So it’s more people, just with smaller projects.”
Kjolsrud’s presentation showed several increases in participation when the city raised its incentives in October 2023. Since then, for example, commercial/HOA participation alone has increased 260%, with about 371,000 square feet of grass removed and about $770,000 in rebates issued during the past two years.
Kjolsrud said it’s important for residents, businesses and homeowners associations that want to take advantage of a rebate program should contact their water provider first to get it cleared.
Chandler Water Resources can be contacted at 480-782-3580 or conserve@chandleraz.gov.
The city stated, in a news release, that policies are being amended “to promote continued participation and ensure funding availability.”
The Jan. 1, 2026 updates include:
-Extend the single-family grass removal rebate, reduce the per square foot rebate amount from $2.00 to $1.50 and reduce the maximum rebate from $3,000 to $2,000
-Extend the large landscape grass removal rebate and reduce the maximum rebate from $75,000 to $20,000
-Extend the water-efficient technology rebate, amend the policy to include installation costs, and modify Chandler’s grant agreement with the Water Infrastructure Finance Authority of Arizona to reduce the funding amount to $600,000
Jason W. Brooks News Editor | Chandler Independent
Jason W. Brooks joined Independent Newsmedia, Inc., USA, in July 2021 as an associate editor. After a year covering Buckeye, he has covered Chandler since the fall of 2022, in addition to assisting the Daily Independent throughout his time at INI.
Education: University of New Mexico, bachelor of arts in journalism and mass communication, print emphasis, English minor.
Random Fact: He and his siblings witnessed a Space Shuttle launch and landing in the same year in person, on opposite coasts.
Hobbies: Karaoke, bicycling and American Sign Language.
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