By Jennifer Nations, Water Resource Coordinator
If your landscape needs a spruce-up, this weekend is the ideal time to upgrade your irrigation controller, install a rain sensor, and add mulch to your new drought-tolerant plants.
And it’s all tax-free.
The state comptroller’s office is offering a sales tax holiday Saturday through Monday on the purchase of certain water-efficient products. The tax holiday was made possible by legislation passed in 2015 that provides an incentive for Texans to conserve our limited water resources.
Eligible tax-exempt items can be used to conserve or retain groundwater, recharge water tables, or decrease ambient air temperature, which reduces evaporation. For example, mulch is tax exempt because it cools the soil and helps retain water.
Other tax-free items include:
- WaterSense labeled products.
- Soaker or drip-irrigation hose.
- Moisture control for a sprinkler or irrigation system.
- Rain barrel or an alternative rain and moisture collection system.
- Permeable ground cover surface that allows water to reach underground basins, aquifers or water collection points.
- Plants, trees, and grasses.
- Soil and compost
WaterSense-labeled products go through an independent, third-party certification process and meet the EPA’s specifications for efficiency and performance. The beauty of WaterSense is having water-saving products in your home or business that deliver exceptional performance and savings on water bills for years to come.
In addition to tax savings, rebates for toilets and rain barrels are available for College Station water customers.
Take advantage of this opportunity to help conserve our water resources while saving yourself some cash. For more information visit the Water-Efficient Products Sales Tax Holiday page on the Texas Comptroller’s website.
About the Author
Jennifer Nations has been the City of College Station’s water resource coordinator since 1999 after serving two years as BVSWMA’s environmental compliance officer. She’s also chair of the Water Conservation and Reuse Division for the Texas Section of the American Water Works Association. A native of Fremont, Calif., Jennifer earned a bachelor’s degree in environmental & resource science from UC-Davis in 1995 and received a master’s degree in water management & hydrologic science from Texas A&M in 2016.
Image Copyright: raywoo/123RF Stock Photo
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