If you live in or manage a community where the association pays for water usage, consider the money you may be “flushing” away by using the original water guzzling toilets. The Devon Condominium Community in Florida was lucky enough to take advantage of a city grant allowing it to replace more than 250 toilets in the community.
The newly installed commodes each use 1.2 gallons of water per flush as compared to 6 gallons per flush used by the original toilets. Devon estimates it will save at least $3,600 per year by using less water, which is a significant amount that can be used for other much needed projects.
In addition to saving money on water usage, Colorado communities may be eligible for rebates equaling $50 or $100 per unit if low flow toilets are installed. In Colorado there are several rebate programs available for individuals and associations that install low flow toilets. To find out more about these rebate programs, click here.
The board of directors for Devon adopted a philosophy that a board has a fiduciary obligation to its owners to maintain the community to the best possible standards and to make life easier for its residents. In the case of the Devon community, most of the residents were 55 and older, and replacement of the toilets offered another benefit to these owners—the new toilets were taller in size, making them easier to climb off.
So if your community is considering undertaking “Project Flush”, keep in mind the potential benefits may be more then just monetary.