Toilet rebate program ending

Don’t make me send this money back to the State!

The Toilet Rebate Program so many of you participated in (thanks!) is financed through a State Grant. The Grant contract deadline is looming, and toilet rebate applications must be received at TCCWD by August 31, 2017.

The Program was set up to provide rebates for 1,000 toilets, and as I’m typing, we’ve provided 698 rebates. Any money we don’t use will be re-absorbed into the State coffers.

Don’t make me send the money back. It’s up to you to make sure we use it all up! If you’ve already changed out your toilets, talk to your neighbors, talk to your boss at work, your hairdresser, your church, your landlord.

As a reminder, the building must be older than 1992, and the toilet must be the old original toilet that uses more than three gallons per flush. But how can you tell?

If you don’t know how old the building is, call me and I’ll look it up for you (661-822-5504). Here are some tricks to figure out if the toilet is old and is eligible for a rebate. Look toward the back of the seat, between the seat hinges and the tank, for a manufacturer’s label. If the label also says ‘1.6 gpf” it is a newer toilet and already low flow, so is not eligible for a rebate. If the label just has the manufacturer name, it is probably an old high flow toilet and should be replaced. We make the replacement inexpensive by providing up to $150 rebate per toilet. Also, you can look inside the toilet tank and under the lid for a date stamp. If the date is 1992 or older, the toilet is eligible for a rebate.

What if you have a flush valve toilet? They’re mostly found in commercial buildings, and just have a silver pipe with a flush handle and no tank. We’ve got rebates for those too.

The rebate program is available to anyone in the TCCWD water service area, which stretches from Keene on the west to Sand Canyon Road on the east. People with wells are eligible. Applications are on our web site at tccwd.com/toilets/ and are also available at City Hall and CSD offices.

Let’s do this! Because after all, it’s not about using up the money, it’s about using less water and helping to create sustainable water use in our community.