During the first four years of its toilet rebate program, the Las Virgenes Municipal Water District has handed out cash incentives to more than 4,000 homeowners who replaced old toilets with more water-efficient models.
"We're very happy, especially considering that most of the homes around Calabasas are built with newer toilets that don't need to be replaced," district spokeswoman Bobbe Wymer said.
The district offers $75 to anyone who replaces a toilet that uses 3.5 gallons of water per flush with a new toilet, which by state law must use less than 1.6 gallons per flush. The district also offers $100 for each additional toilet replaced.
"We're trying to get everyone to replace all their old toilets at once," Wymer said. "This is a desert environment and drought is the norm. The more water we can conserve, the more we will have for drinking."
