Missed your chance at a cheap, low-flow toilet last year? Don’t fret — opportunity No. 2 is here.
The Center for ReSource Conservation is bringing back its popular low-flow toilet replacement program, the second year it will be offered to Boulder County residents.
The program started in 2013 for city of Boulder residents, but was expanded to include Boulder County last year and was a resounding success, with all of the discounted toilets selling out.
“Our partners were all really excited about the outcome from last year,” said Morgan Shimabuku, Center for ReSource Conservation’s senior manager of sustainability programs.
This year, 600 toilets will be made available for $65, and technicians will install the toilet for you for an additional $85. It’s a slight increase from the $50 toilets that the program offered last year, which Shimabuku said is to account for the cost of the program expanding to the county.
“We only need to make sure we’re covering our costs,” Shimabuku said. “After doing one year of the program, you have a better account of the costs.”
Even with the slight increase, it is still a bargain. The Niagara Stealth model toilets the program is installing normally cost about $150.
“The deal and this program make it affordable for all incomes,” Shimabuku said.
She said the low-flow toilets on average cut water use in half and will save the average homeowner 10,000 gallons of water per year.
“You will see it on your water bill, and over the lifetime of these toilets, one toilet can save 300,000 gallons,” Shimabuku said. “That’s the main benefit we like to talk about.”
Lafayette resident Brandon Larson said his water bill was cut in half after getting one of the low-flow toilets last year.
“This program makes it so easy, and so affordable, I don’t know why a homeowner wouldn’t do it,” Larson said. “We took out this toilet that was probably original with our house, from the ’80s, and literally in one month we went from using 2,000 gallons in a month to 1,000 gallons in a month.”
Shimabuku said the cheap installation also saves homeowners the hassle of installing the toilets themselves. After last year’s high demand, the Center for ReSource Conservation now has four technicians to handle installations, which have already begun.
“We’ve already got a full schedule for the next few days,” Shimabuku said. “This year, we hired early and we have a full team of technicians ready to go.”
The program is on a first-come, first-serve basis, so homeowners looking to snag one need to get off the pot.
“We’re really hoping that we get the word out so that the people who did miss it last year get one,” Shimabuku said. “But they will go fast, and there is a limited number, so we encourage people to come to our website as soon as possible.”
For more information or to apply for a toilet, visit conservationcenter.org/high-efficiency-toilet-upgrade/.
Mitchell Byars: 303-473-1329, byarsm@dailycamera.com or twitter.com/mitchellbyars
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