What this project looks like
Some stormwater programs offer help. The incentive usually supports removal of impervious pavement, installation of an approved permeable surface, or the added cost of a stormwater-performing system. It is not a general driveway rebate.
Common project routes include:
- Remove pavement and restore a permeable planted or landscaped area.
- Replace a driveway, patio, or walk with permeable pavers, porous concrete, or porous asphalt.
- Build an engineered stone reservoir under an approved surface.
- Receive a stormwater fee credit for managing runoff from impervious area.
A local program can define the same everyday project differently. Treat its approved plan, drawings, specifications, and written decision as the rule for that property.
Who and where usually qualify
Eligibility is local. A mailing address inside a city does not necessarily mean the property receives service from the city program.
- The property pays the relevant stormwater fee or lies in the eligible service area.
- The project drains and infiltrates as the local design requires.
- The proposed use, slope, soil, and loading are suitable for the selected system.
- The plan, contractor, and materials receive approval when required.
Use the map and state directory to find candidates, then confirm the address on the administering agency’s site or with program staff. The map shows directory coverage, not a guarantee of eligibility or available funding.
What the work may involve
- Approved permeable surface
- Open-graded bedding and base aggregate
- Excavation, subgrade preparation, and geotextile where specified
- Edge restraint, underdrain, observation port, and overflow where required
- A maintenance plan for vacuuming, sweeping, or sediment control
This is a project list, not a shopping list. A component can be required, merely allowed, or reimbursable. Those three meanings are different and should be labeled on every program page.
How programs may provide help
A program may reimburse a percentage of cost, pay by area, cover only the incremental cost above ordinary paving, or offer a recurring fee credit. Depaving and permeable-pavement incentives should be labeled separately because their costs and inspection needs differ.
Compare the benefit mechanism before comparing headline amounts. Ask who pays first, what proof is required, when the benefit arrives, whether it is a check or account credit, and what happens if the final cost is higher than expected.
Before you start
Stop and check: Do not order pavers or base stone from a generic material description. A surface can look permeable and still fail the program’s tested product, aggregate, depth, installation, or maintenance rules.
A safe sequence is:
- Confirm the address, account, applicant, and property type.
- Read the current program page and application—not an old PDF or third-party summary.
- Document existing conditions with dated photos and measurements.
- Submit the required concept, plan, quote, or application.
- Wait for the written approval, contract, or notice to proceed.
- Complete the approved scope and preserve changes in writing.
- Save itemized invoices, proof of payment, product details, and after photos.
- Request the final inspection or submit the completion package.
Programs to check
Atlanta Post-Development Stormwater Management Ordinance
The program may support one of these project types: Build a Rain Garden, Bioswale, or Runoff-Management Yard, Replace Pavement or Build a Permeable Driveway or Patio, or Install a Green Roof or Large-Site Green Infrastructure.
Cash benefit: none. Required retention: first 1.0 inch of runoff on site.
Austin Water WaterWise Rainscape Rebate
The program may support one of these project types: Build a Rain Garden, Bioswale, or Runoff-Management Yard, Replace Pavement or Build a Permeable Driveway or Patio, or Fix Yard Drainage and Reduce Flood or Sewer-Backup Risk.
Base: $0.50 per square foot. Turf removal bonus: additional $0.50 per square foot when applicable.
Burlington Blue BTV Residential Stormwater Program
The program may support one of these project types: Replace Pavement or Build a Permeable Driveway or Patio, Build a Rain Garden, Bioswale, or Runoff-Management Yard, or Fix Yard Drainage and Reduce Flood or Sewer-Backup Risk.
2026 site maximum: $2,000.00. Linked chart permeable pavers: up to $2,000.00. Linked chart rain garden or bioretention: up to $1,500.00. Linked chart infiltration trench or dry well: up to $1,500.00.
Chattanooga RainSmart Reward Rebates
The program may support one of these project types: Build a Rain Garden, Bioswale, or Runoff-Management Yard, Replace Pavement or Build a Permeable Driveway or Patio, or Fix Yard Drainage and Reduce Flood or Sewer-Backup Risk.
Current program marketing: up to $5,000.00. Rain barrel: $50.00 each. Fetched 2023 rain garden agreement: $5.00 per sqft construction plus $1.25 per sqft materials subject to $1,000.00 cap.
DeKalb County Stormwater Utility Credit Program
The program may support one of these project types: Build a Rain Garden, Bioswale, or Runoff-Management Yard, Replace Pavement or Build a Permeable Driveway or Patio, or Fix Yard Drainage and Reduce Flood or Sewer-Backup Risk.
Maximum credit: 40%. Credit components: four 10% performance credits. 2025 single ERU annual fee: $120.00. Implied single ERU maximum annual savings: $48.00.
Individual Residential Property Stormwater Fee Credit
The program may support one of these project types: Replace Pavement or Build a Permeable Driveway or Patio or Build a Rain Garden, Bioswale, or Runoff-Management Yard.
Individual residential credit: 25% of stormwater fee.
Lancaster Stormwater Management Fee Credit
The program may support one of these project types: Build a Rain Garden, Bioswale, or Runoff-Management Yard, Replace Pavement or Build a Permeable Driveway or Patio, or Fix Yard Drainage and Reduce Flood or Sewer-Backup Risk.
Up to 50% of stormwater management fee.
MSD Project Clear Rainscaping Small Grants
The program may support one of these project types: Build a Rain Garden, Bioswale, or Runoff-Management Yard, Replace Pavement or Build a Permeable Driveway or Patio, or Install a Green Roof or Large-Site Green Infrastructure.
Residential: up to $4,000.00. Institutional and nonresidential: up to $10,000.00 effective October 1 2025.
Philadelphia Water Department Rain Check
The program may support one of these project types: Build a Rain Garden, Bioswale, or Runoff-Management Yard, Replace Pavement or Build a Permeable Driveway or Patio, or Capture Rainwater in a Barrel or Cistern.
Rain garden: $22.00 per square foot up to $2,500.00. Permeable pavers: $20.00 per square foot up to $2,500.00. Metal downspout planter: $1,100.00 subsidy with $100.00 participant payment. Rain barrel: free 55 gallon barrel approximately $175.00 value.
Prince George's County Rain Check Rebate
The program may support one of these project types: Build a Rain Garden, Bioswale, or Runoff-Management Yard, Replace Pavement or Build a Permeable Driveway or Patio, or Create a Native, Pollinator, or Conservation Yard.
Pavement removal: $6.00 per square foot. Permeable pavement: $12.00 per square foot. Rain garden: $10.00 per square foot. Conservation landscaping: $5.00 per square foot.
RainScapes Rewards Rebates
The program may support one of these project types: Build a Rain Garden, Bioswale, or Runoff-Management Yard, Replace Pavement or Build a Permeable Driveway or Patio, or Capture Rainwater in a Barrel or Cistern.
Pavement removal: 3 to $7.00 per square foot. Other practices: varies by practice and actual cost.
Raleigh Rainwater Rewards
The program may support one of these project types: Build a Rain Garden, Bioswale, or Runoff-Management Yard, Replace Pavement or Build a Permeable Driveway or Patio, Capture Rainwater in a Barrel or Cistern, or Install a Green Roof or Large-Site Green Infrastructure.
Standard cost share: 90% of eligible cost. Qualified subsidy: up to 100%. Permeable pavement basis: 90% of incremental cost over traditional pavement.
Residential Green Infrastructure
The program may support one of these project types: Build a Rain Garden, Bioswale, or Runoff-Management Yard, Replace Pavement or Build a Permeable Driveway or Patio, or Fix Yard Drainage and Reduce Flood or Sewer-Backup Risk.
The official sources do not publish one simple amount.
Residential Stormwater Utility Credit
The program may support one of these project types: Build a Rain Garden, Bioswale, or Runoff-Management Yard, Replace Pavement or Build a Permeable Driveway or Patio, Install a Green Roof or Large-Site Green Infrastructure, or Capture Rainwater in a Barrel or Cistern.
Standard: 35% stormwater credit. Green zone: 45% stormwater credit.
Resilient NYC Partners
The program may support one of these project types: Install a Green Roof or Large-Site Green Infrastructure, Build a Rain Garden, Bioswale, or Runoff-Management Yard, Replace Pavement or Build a Permeable Driveway or Patio, or Capture Rainwater in a Barrel or Cistern.
Property owner cost: city funds eligible design and construction. Exact cap: not published.
RiverSmart Permeable Surface Rebate
Replace impervious surface with an approved vegetated area or engineered permeable-paver system.
$8 per square foot for vegetation or $15 per square foot for PICP; up to $6,000.
Savannah Residential GI/LID Stormwater User Fee Credit
The program may support one of these project types: Build a Rain Garden, Bioswale, or Runoff-Management Yard, Replace Pavement or Build a Permeable Driveway or Patio, Capture Rainwater in a Barrel or Cistern, or Create a Native, Pollinator, or Conservation Yard.
20% off stormwater user fee.
Thornton Water Water-Wise Landscape Rebate
The program may support one of these project types: Replace a Lawn With a Water-Wise Yard or Replace Pavement or Build a Permeable Driveway or Patio.
Landscape: up to $2.00 per square foot. Limit basis: approved cost and area.
Yard Smart Rain Rewards
The program may support one of these project types: Build a Rain Garden, Bioswale, or Runoff-Management Yard, Replace Pavement or Build a Permeable Driveway or Patio, or Create a Native, Pollinator, or Conservation Yard.
Stormwater managed: $7.50 per square foot of impervious area managed. Single family contractor: 75% up to cap. Single family DIY: 100% up to cap. Other property: 75% up to cap. Nonprofit: 100% up to cap.
Front Yard Initiative
The program may support one of these project types: Replace Pavement or Build a Permeable Driveway or Patio or Build a Rain Garden, Bioswale, or Runoff-Management Yard.
$2.50 per square foot of impervious paving removed.
Sarasota County RainCheck
The program may support one of these project types: Replace Pavement or Build a Permeable Driveway or Patio, Build a Rain Garden, Bioswale, or Runoff-Management Yard, or Fix Yard Drainage and Reduce Flood or Sewer-Backup Risk.
Impervious replacement: $5.00 per square foot. Rain garden or bioswale: up to $500.00. Downspout planter: up to $1,000.00. Modified downspout: up to $50.00. Alternative bmp: up to $5,000.00.
Questions to ask before committing money
- Which surface systems are approved?
- Does the program cover removal and ordinary replacement cost?
- What base gradation and depth are required?
- Is a certified contractor or engineer required?
- How is the finished system inspected?
- What maintenance keeps a recurring credit active?
Get important answers in writing. If a contractor or supplier says a substitution is “basically the same,” ask the program to approve the exact change before installation.
FAQs
Does ordinary gravel make a driveway permeable?
Not for incentive purposes unless the specific program and design approve it. Engineered permeable pavement is a layered system, not simply loose stone on soil.
Can I replace only part of a driveway?
Possibly. Minimum area, drainage, and whole-system performance rules vary.
Why would removal cost be excluded?
Some programs pay only for the stormwater improvement or the incremental cost above conventional paving. Read the eligible-cost definition.
Does the program pay Hello Gravel directly?
Usually not. Most programs approve and pay for a completed property project using their own process. If the approved design requires aggregate, soil, sand, fill, mulch, or another bulk material, Hello Gravel can help the customer source the correct material after the specification and approval are clear.
Related guides
- how to read aggregate and material specifications (specialist review pending)
- washed vs unwashed stone (specialist review pending)
- contractor led vs diy programs
Official sources
Use the official sources below to confirm current rules and availability.
- https://doee.dc.gov/service/permeablesurfacerebate
- https://doee.dc.gov/sites/default/files/dc/sites/doee/service_content/attachments/Permeable%20Surface%20Rebate%20Program%20Application_1.pdf
- https://doee.dc.gov/sites/default/files/dc/sites/doee/service_content/attachments/Permeable%20Surface%20Rebate%20Program%20Applicant%20Guide_1.pdf
- https://www.neorsd.org/fee-credit/
- https://www.neorsd.org/I_Library.php?LIBRARY_RECORD_ID=5692&a=download_file
- https://www.burlingtonvt.gov/385/Stormwater-Assessments
- https://www.burlingtonvt.gov/DocumentCenter/View/12064/On-Tap-Vol-17-Summer-2026-PDF
- https://www.burlingtonvt.gov/DocumentCenter/View/12009/BLUE-Rebate-Amount-Chart
- https://www.uvm.edu/seagrant/sites/default/files/uploads/BLUE_BTV_BasisOfDesign_Standards_VersionV_Complete.pdf
- https://www.thorntonwater.com/residential-rebates-and-free-services/
- https://www.thorntonwater.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/2026-landscape-rebate-info_rules_application.pdf
- https://www.thorntonwater.com/h2overhaul
- https://www.thorntonco.gov/media/file/march-april-2026-city-voice-newspaper
- https://www.atlantawatershed.org/stormwaterordinance-2/
- https://www.atlantawatershed.org/greeninfrastructure/
- https://www.atlantawatershed.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/Green-Infrastructure-in-Atlanta-A-Self-Guided-Tour.pdf
- https://www.urbanconservancy.org/project/residential-green-infrastructure/
- https://www.urbanconservancy.org/2026/04/20/fyi-update-april-20-2026/