Here’s Todd in his own words:
WOW!!!!

I can not believe the efficiency of this thing. Try as we might we have not been able to get it to clog or not fully flush even with the .9 gallon flush. Read more: DIY Installation and performance of Low Flush Toilet.

In today’s lesson, Tommy Linstroth, founder of RehydrateUS.org, helps demystify the water bills from the City of Atlanta.  Linstroth is consulting with American Standard on a water efficiency test for two Georgia neighborhoods.

Most bills have a fee for water use and sewer use, both of which are based on how much water comes through the meter at your house. Utilities typically assume that the same amount of water coming into your house (your water bill) is the same amount leaving in the sewer (your sewer bill). Thus the two fees are directly related.

Water is often billed  in a unit of hundreds of cubic feet, shown as CCF.  One CCF (or hundred cubic feet) = 748 gallons of water.

Unfortunately, by measuring in such large units, there’s not that sense of satisfaction Americans are used to in seeing numbers going down, such as reducing a grocery bill with coupons or losing weight.

And with water so inexpensive, there isn’t even the fun of seeing significant cost savings, similar to the dramatic change that homeowners see when upgrading to higher efficiency heating and cooling equipment.  Use this water savings calculator to see how much you can save with your local water rates.

The good news is that if you lower your home water consumption, you’ll lower not only your water bill but also your sewer bill, and likely your electric bill.  Less water coming into your house, less going into the sewer – everybody wins. Learn more and take the water efficiency pledge at RehydrateUS.org.

Lake Lanier

In July, a federal court ruling declared that the Atlanta metropolitan region was never authorized by Congress to use Lake Lanier as a source for drinking water.    The nation’s eighth  largest metro standard to lose it’s largest source of drinking water in 2012, unless the state can convince Congress to authorize the continued use of Lake Lanier for drinking water.

This article from Atlanta’s Creative Loafing magazine cites statistics from  American Rivers that the region could save up to 210 million gallons per day–approximately the same amount drawn from Lake Lanier–by:

- Offering rebates on high efficiency toilet and faucets.
- Investing to fix leaky pipes.
- Encouraging different landscaping that requires less water use.

The article notes that the state’s own estimates find that conservation would be 27 times cheaper than building new reservoirs.

High-efficiency fixtures also save money for homeowners.  Know your local water rate?  Enter it into the American Standard Water Savings calculator to see just how much.

Professor Toilet is pleased to present a new tool to calculate your water and $$$ savings through water-efficient toilets and faucets.

There’s math involved. But American Standard has done it for you.

With the newly updated The newly updated Water Savings Calculator on the American Standard website, you can enter water rates for your local area and indicate your current products for a more accurate comparison.

True, your water costs don’t seem as high as your energy costs.    According to American Standard’s Water Saving Calculator, the average home would save about $400 a year replacing toilets and faucets with WaterSense-labeled versions, and replacing showerheads with 1.5 gallon-per-minute models such as FloWise.

But water costs also impact communities–through taxes needed to build and maintain treatment facilities.  Not to mention the real possibility of running out of water (see Orme, TN, fall 2007).

While the federal government might not yet have religion on water savings, many local municipalities offer generous rebates for upgrading to water efficient fixtures.   Professor Toilet will wait patiently–maybe–for the Feds to catch up.