Mayor Shirley Franklin proposed and the Atlanta City Council approved an allocation of $1 million rebate program for Atlanta residents to replace older, water-wasting toilets with new, low-flow models. Today, the Council authorized the City to participate in a metro-wide toilet rebate program to be administered by the Metropolitan North Georgia Water Planning District (the District). The money authorized by the individual jurisdictions will be offered as rebates to the customers of each jurisdiction. The City’s $1 million contribution could fund as many as 12,000 rebates to Atlanta residents.
“Atlanta is making a major commitment to this project,” said Mayor Franklin.
“We are putting our money on the line for a program that we believe will ultimately prove beneficial not just for our City, but for all of North Georgia. This program, along with the MOST which is up for reauthorization by the voters on February 5th, will enable residents to conserve water and save money on their water bills.”
“Toilets are the largest water users and water wasters in the average home,” DWM Commissioner Robert Hunter said. “Through this program, we hope to encourage our customers to replace their inefficient toilets with new water-saving models. Doing so will not only lower their water/sewer bills, it will also help Atlanta conserve water in this serious, ongoing drought.”
To receive a rebate, Atlanta water/sewer customers must:
- Live in or rent a residence that was built prior to 1993 and have fixtures not currently in compliance with current water efficiency plumbing code standards;
- Have a water account in good standing with one of the participating utilities;
- Purchase and install a toilet from an approved list of 1.6- or 1.28-gallon-per-flush (gpf) toilets ;
- Provide the District with their most recent water/sewer bill; and
- Provide the District with proof of purchase (showing make, model, flow rate and installation.)
Customers who replace their old toilets with 1.6-gpf toilets can receive a $50 rebate, and those who install 1.28-gpf toilets can receive a $100 rebate. There is a limit of two rebates per household. Only toilets purchased after September 27, 2007, are eligible.
Toilets purchased prior to 1993 use between 3.5 and seven gpf. There are an estimated 46,000 structures within Atlanta’s service area with pre-1993 toilets. Replacing a 3.5-gpf toilet with a 1.6-gpf model saves about two gallons a flush or 54 percent of an average household’s water use. Replacing a 7-gpf toilet with a 1.6-gpf model saves 5.4 gallons a flush or 77 percent of an average household’s use.
Information on the rebates is available at www.atlantawatershed.org and at www.northgeorgiawater.com/html/315.htm.