Some San Gabriel Valley residents may be eligible to receive $250 worth of drought-resistant plants — for free.

The Upper San Gabriel Valley Municipal Water District launched the region’s first residential plant voucher program last week; applications are now open, according to a press release.

The program is intended to encourage people to integrate drought-tolerant plants into their landscape instead of grass lawns and other water-thirsty plant materials, according to the upper district website. The nearly 1 million people in the upper district service area use more than 78 billion gallons of water annually, according to the release.

With the groundwater supply low, the water district reviewed opportunities to encourage water conservation, said Tom Love, general manager for the Upper San Gabriel Valley Water District.

As it turns out, some of these California native plants are expensive, so the voucher program is designed to help the budget-challenged attain a water-wise garden or lawn, he added.

To qualify, residents must live in the upper district of the San Gabriel Valley, submitting a copy of their water bill to prove residency. Some cities are entirely in the district: Arcadia, Baldwin Park, Bradbury, Duarte, El Monte, Irwindale, Monrovia, Rosemead, San Gabriel, South El Monte, South Pasadena and Temple City. The unincorporated areas of Bassett, South San Gabriel and Valinda are also included.

Some areas of Azusa, Covina, Glendora, Hacienda Heights City of Industry, La Puente, Pasadena and West Covina do not land in the upper district; residents of those cities should verify whether they live in the service area.

Plants will be provided by Garden View Nursery in Irwindale. Once verified, participants will receive a voucher number to redeem their plants at the nursery, according to the release.

EcoTech Services Inc., a water conservation retrofitting organization in Monrovia, vets the applications and administers the vouchers, Love said. He said that the vouchers are funded by the upper water district and the Metropolitan Water District.

Love said that the success of Metropolitan Water District’s turf removal rebate program — which proved so popular, it ran out of money at one point — gives hope for the plant voucher program. The rebate program, which ran from 2013 to 2017 and was revitalized late last year, paid residents to remove grass from their yards and replace it with low-water-use landscaping, Love said.

“When people transform their lawns, we think neighbors will see the California native, water-saving plants and be inspired to do the same thing,” Love said.

Once the budgeted 280 vouchers are claimed, the upper water district will evaluate the pilot plant voucher program and determine if it’s working well enough to continue. “It’s already gotten a tremendous response,” Love said. Those who qualify after the cap is met will be put on a waiting list for the next go-round, he added.

“For an average home, $250 will allow someone to buy several plants to replace grass and cover a typical front yard,” Love said.

While residents don’t have to use the entire voucher at once, the funds must be redeemed within 120 days from the voucher’s issue date, according to the program’s website.

The voucher allows qualified residents to purchase several types of designated native, water-wise trees, ground covers, shrubs, succulents and ornamental grasses. The program website also has some ideas on how to install the new garden.

The water district hosts free landscaping classes in which they learn how and when to plant, how to prepare soil to conserve water and more, Love added.