Manatee County flushes water waste

Some Manatee County residents have found they can do their civic duty by replacing old toilets.

Considering toilets in homes built before 1995 often used more than 3.5 gallons per flush, they could be saving almost two gallons per flush.

In 1995, a federal law was passed mandating that all toilets manufactured had to use 1.6 gallons or less per flush.

“You would be amazed how much water is flushed down the toilet,” said Olga Wolanin, superintendent for the Water Compliance Division of the county’s utilities department.

Manatee County is continuing a drive to replace old toilets, and while many homes in Lakewood Ranch may be new, East County and the rest of Manatee County still have a lot of older communities, Wolanin said.

“With condos, mobile home parks and older homes, we still have a lot of eligible people,” Wolanin said.

Manatee County took the plunge almost a decade ago to incentivize residents to make the switch to more water-efficient johns, and in 2016 the program is still flowing strong.

“We’re trying to bring down the per-capita water usage so we don’t have to find new water sources in the future,” Wolanin said.

The program offers residents who turn in toilets a $100 rebate for up to two toilets in their home or business. The county sends someone to inspect the toilet on-site to make sure it qualifies. It has to be pre-1995 and the owner has to be a Manatee County water user, not a resident living within city limits. Residents can then retire their old toilets and get their rebate.

Funding for the rebate program comes from a cooperative annual agreement between the county and the Southwest Florida Water Management District.

Despite having had the program since 2007, the county still has to budget for about 1,500 rebates a year. Since the program launched, the county has replaced 10,110 toilets for 7,715 Manatee County residents which equates to a water savings of about 26.4 gallons a day per person. That’s 69.1 million gallons saved annually.

The county pays out about $113,250 annually. Lacking staff to dedicate to old toilet inspections, it contracted a private company whose employees get $52 per potty inspection.

The incentive program is a simple way to get residents to easily change their water usage, Wolanin said.