Morinville residents could be flush with cash this year thanks to a new water-saving toilet rebate.
Town administrators posted details of Morinville’s new water conservation rebate to the town’s website last week. The rebate, which is retroactive to the start of this year, offers $75 to any household that replaces an old toilet with a low-flow or dual-flush model.
The rebate is part of the town’s new water conservation plan, says public works director Claude Valcourt, and is similar to ones offered in other cities like St. Albert. “Water is getting more and more scarce in Alberta,” he said, and town council wants people to use less of it.
Morinville residents use about 267 litres of water per person per day, reports the Town of Morinville, based on a five-year average. The town hopes to trim this use by five per cent by 2020.
Water is a precious commodity, said Mayor Paul Krauskopf, and a leaky toilet could almost double your water bill. “That’s a great waste of precious water that can be eliminated.”
Toilets account for about 30 per cent of the water use in the average home, said Leah Jackson, environmental manager for the City of St. Albert. While pre-1990s toilets squander some 20 litres per flush, modern ones use just six. “You’re saving over 50 per cent of the water every time you flush.”
Any town resident who replaces a domestic toilet this year with a low- or dual-flush model can get a $75 rebate from the town, Valcourt said. “It has to be WaterSense labelled,” he said, referring to a specific certification program, and it can’t be in a newly built home. Each household is limited to one rebate.
You also have to properly dispose of your old toilet, he continued. That means either hauling it to the Roseridge dump or cramming it into your garbage bin – you might need a hammer for the latter option. Town staff must also inspect your new toilet before you get your rebate.
The town has set aside $7,500 for the rebate this year, Valcourt said, or enough for 100 rebates. The town might expand the fund next year to businesses if it does well.
St. Albert offered a toilet rebate program last year that was extremely popular, Jackson said. “By July, I believe we were all sold out.” She hoped to bring the rebate back again if council had the cash for it.
Krauskopf said he planned to apply for the rebate after he put in some dual-flush models this year. “I’m interested in lowering the cost of my water bill.”
Residents can save about $100 a year on water by replacing an old toilet with an efficient one, the town’s website reports – enough to cover the cost of a new toilet in about two years.
Valcourt said he hoped to bring forward a water conservation survey and bylaw later this year. Expect a bylaw requiring new St. Albert homes to use water-efficient appliances later this year as well, Jackson said.
Information on the rebate can be found at www.morinville.ca.
Water facts
A leaky toilet can waste up to 12,000 litres of water in a month, says Epcor – enough to fill about 75 bathtubs. <br />Replacing an old toilet with a low-flow one can reduce a home’s water consumption by about 80,000 litres a year (about 503 bathtubs) and prevent about 100 kilograms of greenhouse gas emissions (about four propane cylinders worth) a year, reports the Town of Morinville.
