The City of Palo Alto partners with Valley Water to offer stormwater rebates to residents and businesses in Palo Alto. Rebates are offered through the Stormwater Rebate Program for rain barrels, cisterns, rain gardens, and pervious pavement. These features typically enhance the beauty and water-efficiency of your landscape, capture rainwater for future irrigation use, reduce moisture and ponding around building foundations, build resiliency against drought, and filter pollutants from stormwater runoff that would otherwise enter creeks and the San Francisco Bay.
Rain Barrels
Cisterns
Pervious Pavement
Rain Gardens
Total Rebate Amount*: $70 per barrel
Total Rebate Amount*: $1.00 per gallon
Total Rebate Amount*: $1.50 per square foot
Total Rebate Amount*: $2 per square foot of roof diverted up to $600
Installation Requirement: Must be installed by a licensed contractor
Must be installed by a licensed contractor
*For additional details on Valley Water and City contributions to each rebate, please view the individual stormwater feature pages.
The City offers rebates to property owners, renters, and tenants who reside or have a place of business within the City. Contractors, employees, renters, and tenants may apply on behalf of their client with approval from the property owner.
A stormwater measure is a feature of infrastructure or landscaping that diverts stormwater away from impermeable surfaces, like roadways and rooftops, and directs it toward permeable surfaces, like gardens, or stores it for irrigation.
With every storm, rain carries pollutants from roofs, parking lots, pavement, and other impervious surfaces onto streets and into storm drain inlets. These curb openings provide a path for polluted stormwater runoff to flow into the City storm drain system and into local creeks and the San Francisco Bay without removal or treatment. These storms are associated with ponding concerns throughout the City and may erode creeks and compromise the structure of our creek channels.
Public Works, Watershed Protection Group
(650) 329-2122
cleanbay@cityofpaloalto.org
Last updated on July 01, 2022