Revelations over the past year about toilet flappers have brought the goals, the savings
projections, and the methodologies of many toilet replacement programs into question. Are the
programs well targeted? Are they still viable, given savings lost after flapper replacements? How
can programs be altered to preserve long-term savings?
Austin has offered two types of toilet replacement programs for several years: a free toilet
program and a toilet rebate program. The free toilet program distributes a single model of toilet
that has been confirmed to maintain flush volumes after flapper replacement. The rebate program
at first allowed customers to replace old large capacity toilets with any new toilet of their choice.
When questions about the reliability of savings due to replacement flappers first surfaced,
Austin's Water Conservation program suspended the toilet rebate program and began researching
ways to redesign the program to account for the flapper problems. This paper discusses
Austin's response to the situation as a conservation program working with a disorganized
industry largely uninterested in finding a solution. It reviews research into flappers and toilets,
outreach to local and national equipment suppliers, and the resulting program modifications. It
also examines proposed state legislation that would require toilets sold in the state to meet a
2.0 gpf maximum standard regardless of the replacement flapper installed, and the industry's
response to that legislation. Includes table.
| Edition : | Vol. - No. |
| File Size : | 1
file
, 290 KB |
| Note : | This product is unavailable in Ukraine, Russia, Belarus |
| Number of Pages : | 6 |
| Published : | 01/11/2004 |
