HILLSBORO, ORE. — Caroma is partnering with the city of Alamo Heights, Texas, and Morrison Supply Company, Fort Worth, Texas, on a toilet replacement program, which launched June 10, 2009.
Due to drought conditions, Alamo Heights is experiencing Stage 1 water restrictions. As part of ongoing water restrictions to conserve limited water supplies, the city has created the toilet voucher replacement program to help conserve water in the house.
Approximately 30% of water in the home is used to flush a toilet. Many older toilets use 3.5- or 5-gpf. The voucher rebate program enables homeowners to purchase a water-efficient Caroma toilet at a reduced cost and qualify for a $50 water bill credit with original proof of purchase. Two vouchers and two credits are available per occupied unit.
All Caroma toilets are high efficiency and feature a two-button dual-flush system that averages just 0.9-gpf to 0.96-gpf. This allows the user to choose a full flush (1.28-gpf to 1.6-gpf, depending on the model) for solid waste or 0.8-gpf for liquid and paper waste. Based on an average flush volume, the average house will save 40-44% more water than a standard 1.6-gal. toilet (the national mandate) and up to 74% more water than a 3.5-gal. toilet.
“Water conservation has become extremely important as our water resources are becoming scarcer,” stated Shawn Eddy, assistant city manager/director of public works for the city of Alamo Heights. “By just replacing 3.5- to 5-gpf toilets with high efficiency toilets, the city estimates a savings of 8,130 gallons of water per year. That is approximately 22 gallons of water per toilet per day.”