U.S. Water News Online
SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- A highly successful ultra-low flush toilet (ULFT) distribution program sponsored by Southern California Water Co. is providing thousands of dollars to high schools and community-based non-profit organizations while it saves millions of gallons of water.
Special one-day events the company sponsors for its customers provide premium ULFTs, as well as the return of the old toilet for recycling. Participating high schools or local community-based organizations are rewarded with $15 for each toilet replaced.
This financial incentive, say Southern Cal Water officials, is an important ingredient in the program's success.
So far, the company has successfully completed seven such programs with the cooperation of Los Angeles area high schools. These high schools collectively distributed over 5,000 ULFTs, raising over $75,000 for their schools' athletic, leadership, and music departments.
The company's Arden-Cordova Water Service District in Sacramento County distributed 542 ULFTs through the efforts of Cordova High School students -- raising $7,875 for the student body. ACWSD and the Sacramento Regional Waste Water Treatment Plant are now planning a similar joint program for 1997.
They plan to pool their resources and seek federal assistance through the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation. This partnering will allow for a program nearly four times as large as it would be otherwise.
The Cordova program is especially significant because the Cordova area is predominantly non-metered -- demonstrating that water conservation is important even in flat-rate service areas.
The annual demand reduction from these ULFT programs alone is expected to save 48,000,000 gallons that do not need treatment.
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