Urban Water Group

What Urban Water Group does

Urban Water Group, Inc. is a privately held, founder-led landscape architecture and construction firm headquartered in Los Angeles, California, specializing in drought-resilient landscape design integrated with rainwater harvesting, automated irrigation, climate-appropriate planting, and LID (Low Impact Development) best management practices. The company was founded in 2015 by Marilee Kuhlmann (President, licensed C27 landscape contractor #1088297) and Tom Rau (Chief Financial Officer, licensed California Landscape Architect #5681, UCLA Extension instructor), and operates with 1–10 employees serving residential homeowners, commercial property owners, homeowner associations, and public agencies across Southern California. Its technical core combines proprietary automation systems that optimize rainwater storage capacity and distribute water throughout landscapes with an integrated design process aligning hardscape, grading, plant palette, and water systems; notable project deliverables have included systems supplying approximately 70% of annual landscaping water needs from stored rainwater and capturing roughly 1,500 gallons of stormwater per inch of rain.

The business generates revenue through project-based professional services — design and construction of drought-resilient landscapes and water-management systems — priced on a custom basis per engagement. Go-to-market is sales-led and relationship-driven: the firm acquires customers via speaking engagements at horticultural societies (Pasadena Garden Club, Garden Conservancy), participation in garden tours (APLD, Theodore Payne Native Garden Tour), podcast appearances (Growing Greener, 2020), and earned media features (LA Times, NPR Marketplace, Wall Street Journal, Pacific Horticulture Magazine). Distribution relies on direct client engagement and commissions from homeowner associations and public agencies, including the Las Virgenes-Triunfo JPA Pure Water Sustainability Garden and the Stormcatcher Cistern Pilot Program with TreePeople, LADWP, and Tetra Tech. The firm has no disclosed funding rounds, no parent company, no subsidiaries, and no software products, and has not filed any patents or trademarks in the available record.

Name

Urban Water Group

Legal name

Urban Water Group, Inc.

Website

https://urbanwatergroup.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2015

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Urban Water Group is a Los Angeles-based, founder-led landscape architecture and construction firm (1–10 employees) that designs and installs drought-resilient landscapes with rainwater harvesting and automated irrigation for residential, commercial, HOA, and public-sector clients across Southern California.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Landscape Architecture Services

NAICS

Landscape Architectural Services (541320)

SIC

Water, Sewer, Pipeline, Comm & Power Line Construction (1623)

akta.pro primary industry

Urban Flood Resilience & Adaptation Planning (Climate, Nature-Based Solutions) (EUANAEAJ)

akta.pro secondary industries

Detention, Retention & Storage Systems (Ponds, Tanks, Vaults) (EUANAEAD), Sustainable Cities, Urban Development & Green Infrastructure (BPADALAL), Water Features Design & Installation (Ponds, Fountains, Waterfalls) (HSAIABAE)

Keywords

• Landscape architecture services
• Rainwater harvesting systems
• Drought-resilient landscape design
• Automated irrigation design
• Stormwater management solutions

Headquarters

HQ city

Los Angeles

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Landscape Design Services: Professional landscape design and construction services for drought-resilient landscapes targeting residential, commercial, and public sector clients in Southern California.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Urban Water Group is a landscape architecture and construction services firm that designs and builds drought-resilient landscapes integrating rainwater harvesting, automated irrigation systems, climate-appropriate planting, and soil health management. The company serves residential homeowners, commercial property owners, homeowner associations, and public agencies across Southern California, combining landscape architecture, contracting, and water-conservation engineering into project-based services.

Product overview

Urban Water Group is a landscape architecture and water conservation services firm operating in Southern California. They do not offer a software product platform — their offerings are service-based: drought-resilient landscape design and construction, rainwater harvesting system design and installation, automated irrigation systems, and LID (Low Impact Development) best management practices. Projects documented on their website (such as the Las Virgenes-Triunfo Pure Water Sustainability Garden, Resilient in Brentwood, West Valley Cistern, and Stormcatcher Cistern Pilot Program) are client project showcases, not packaged software or SaaS products.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Drought-Resilient Landscape Design and Construction Full-service landscape design and construction for drought-resilient landscapes integrating rainwater harvesting, automated irrigation, climate-appropriate planting, and soil health management. Delivered to residential homeowners, commercial property owners, HOAs, and public agencies across Southern California.
• Rainwater Harvesting System Design and Installation Design and installation of engineered rainwater harvesting systems that collect, store, and distribute rainwater for landscape use. Examples include 20,000-gallon above-ground cistern systems integrated with automated irrigation, and pilot-program cisterns for residential and demonstration projects.
• Stormwater Capture and Ocean Friendly Garden Design Stormwater capture system design that redirects stormwater runoff to gardens for infiltration, reducing outdoor water use and keeping polluted runoff out of waterways and the ocean. Includes rain garden design meeting Surfrider Foundation Ocean Friendly Gardens criteria.
• Automated Irrigation System Design Design of automated irrigation systems that integrate with rainwater storage to optimize landscape water delivery when and where it is needed with minimal client interaction.

Quantifiable outcome

• Captures 1,500 gallons of storm water per inch of rain
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• City of Santa MonicacoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2018Urban Water Group participated in the City of Santa Monica's comprehensive rebate program allowing homeowners to receive rebates for removing turf, installing rain gardens, and replacing driveways with permeable hardscape.
• TreePeople / Greater L.A. Water CollaborativecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerTreePeople spearheaded the Stormcatcher Cistern Pilot Program. The Greater L.A. Water Collaborative is an alliance involving LADWP, the Bureau of Sanitation, and the Storm Water Division of the City of L.A. focused on alternatives to imported water including storm water capture.
• Tetra TechcoreImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerTetra Tech, a leading engineering consultant, engaged Urban Water Group to design and install automated rainwater capture systems and drought-resilient landscapes at six homes in Los Angeles as part of the Stormcatcher Cistern Pilot Program.
• Los Angeles Dept. of Water and Power (LADWP)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerUrban Water Group developed projects to take advantage of LADWP's lawn rebate program, promoting water conservation through turf replacement with drought-tolerant landscapes.
• City of Los Angeles Urban Forestry Division and Bureau of Street ServicesminorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerUrban Water Group worked with Councilperson Koretz's office and City of Los Angeles Urban Forestry Division and Bureau of Street Services to secure approvals and permits for the Santa Monica Boulevard Median project.
• Pure Water Project / Las Virgenes-Triunfo JPAcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerUrban Water Group designed the Pure Water Sustainability Garden, a 7,700 square foot series of garden rooms surrounding the Pure Water Demonstration Facility, which serves as a precursor to a cutting-edge water purification plant.
• Surfrider Foundation Ocean Friendly Gardens ProgramcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPalms Ocean Friendly Garden was designed to meet the criteria of Surfrider Foundation's Ocean Friendly Gardens program, which promotes responsible landscaping that protects waterways and the ocean by preventing polluted runoff.
• Theodore Payne FoundationminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerTheodore Payne Native Garden Tour featured Urban Water Group's Palms Ocean Friendly Garden project, connecting the company with enthusiasts of native and drought-tolerant plantings.

Scale indicators11 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• Tetra Tech: Global engineering and consulting firm with deep water resources and stormwater practice; engaged UWG as a delivery subcontractor on the Stormcatcher Cistern Pilot Program and overlaps with UWG in municipal water infrastructure but at much larger scale.
• SWA Group: Large, globally recognized landscape architecture, urban design, and planning firm with a long-standing portfolio of water-sensitive and ecologically driven projects; comparable category leadership in sustainable landscape design but at much broader scale.
• James Corner Field Operations: Internationally prominent landscape architecture and urban design firm known for large-scale ecological and waterfront projects; shares the climate-resilient, water-stewardship design DNA but operates at a fundamentally larger project scale.

Others

• TreePeople: Los Angeles-based nonprofit focused on urban forestry, rainwater capture, and watershed health; UWG has been an implementation partner in the Stormcatcher Cistern Pilot Program, making this a customer/partner rather than a competitor.
• The Theodore Payne Foundation: Nonprofit native plant and habitat organization in Southern California; an existing UWG partner that drives native garden tours and education, representing an adjacent ecosystem player rather than a direct competitor.
• Surfrider Foundation Ocean Friendly Gardens Program: Program promoting landscapes that reduce runoff and filter pollutants before reaching waterways; an ecosystem partner that certifies projects like UWG's Palms Ocean Friendly Garden, comparable in mission but not a direct service competitor.

Direct peers

• Andrea Cochran Landscape Architecture: Bay Area landscape architecture practice recognized for integrating stormwater management, native planting, and sustainable design into residential and civic projects; highly analogous positioning as a small, award-winning, water-conscious design studio.
• Page|Duke Landscape Architects: Southern California landscape architecture firm working on residential, civic, and institutional projects with an emphasis on sustainable site design; closely comparable mid-size peer with similar regional climate expertise.
• OLIN: Multi-disciplinary landscape architecture and urban design firm with strong emphasis on ecological resilience, water management, and climate-responsive design; comparable for integrated water+landscape philosophy but with significantly larger scale.
• Studio-MLA (formerly Mia Lehrer + Associates): Los Angeles-based landscape architecture firm with deep expertise in sustainable, drought-tolerant, and ecologically responsive design; directly comparable to UWG in regional focus, Southern California climate expertise, and integration of water-stewardship with landscape architecture.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/UrbanWaterGroup
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/urban-water-group

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Urban Water Group