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The county’s toilet rebate program is working so well DeKalb County leaders want to dump more money into it. The Board of Commissioners voted on Nov. 14 to add another $250,000 to its toilet retrofit rebate program.

The program, which was initiated in 2008, provides rebates of up to $50 for purchases of eligible toilets that use 1.6 gallons of water per flush (gpf). For the purchase of any approved 1.28 gpf toilet, a rebate of up to $100 is given.

To qualify for the rebate, the old toilet must be a large capacity toilet installed prior to 1993. There is a limit of three rebates per household and the owner must agree to dispose of the used toilet.

The program was started to help siphon water from the county’s waste water treatment system. And it is successful.

The program promotes water conservation, is good for the environment and reduces consumers’ monthly water bills, said Burke Brennan, the county’s chief communications officer.

Since its inception, nearly 14,000 toilets have been replaced, to the tune of $1.12 million in rebates. Based on an average use of 10 flushes per day, that has kept about 498,000 gallons of water out of the waste water treatment system each day or 14.9 million gallons per month.

The county started the program in 2008 with $500,000 in response to a water conservation plan adopted by the state’s General Assembly requiring local governments to speed up the conversion of older, inefficient plumbing fixtures to current low-flow fixtures. Since the initial investment, the board of commissioners has pumped an additional $740,000 more into the rebate program.