Dual flush toilets not the answer ...
... according to the Toowoomba City Council anyway.
They no longer offer rebates:
"Single Flush Toilet Replacement
The rebate to replace a single flush toilet with a AAA rated toilet will not be offered in 2005-06. For any enquiries contact the WaterWise call centre on 4688 6253."
According to Sydney Water, about 15 per cent of water used by homes goes down the toilet. Imagine how much dual flush toilets would save.
We wouldn't want to assist the Toowoomba ratepayers saving water, would we?
They were offering deals on new shower heads but that now seems a little out of date:
"Shower Heads
Is your old shower head bucketing kilolitres of hot water down the drain? You can save by using a AAA-rated shower rose. 3000 Toowoomba residents have already taken up the offer of our free new for old exchange program. Congratulations! Look for our next offer later in 2005. "
And rebates still apply for clothes washers:
"Toowoomba residents who purchase any AAAA front-loading washing machine from 1st July 2005 and apply for the rebate at the time of purchase will receive by mail a refund of $50 from Council. Proof of purchase and the completed rebate application form must be immediately faxed by the retailer to 4688 6969. Only Toowoomba retailers will have the rebate forms."
See - Toowoomba Water Futures - no rebates for AAA rated toilets.
posted by Concerned Ratepayer at 7:26 AM
10 Comments:
That is how smart our council is, as far as I know the take up offer for the shower heads has been rather slow.
Why is this council still going to pursue the Quarry gardens, when we don't have enough water for households?
As ratepayers we don't get very good value for money from this current council!
7:28 AM, January 19, 2006
Concerned Ratepayer - It appears that the council dropped the rebate on dual flush toilets because that's the only sort you can buy now, and the people claiming the rebate were replacing toilets becuase they had to, not because they wanted to save water.
Now, that would be a waste of ratepayer's money, wouldn't it - paying people to do something they had to do anyway?
7:50 AM, January 19, 2006
What about trying to encourage all those with existing single flush toilets to upgrade to dual flush?
Now, that's not a waste of ratepayer's money is it?
That's not paying people to do something they had to do anyway, is it? It's giving them an incentive to save water.
10:10 AM, January 19, 2006
What about the Council?
Do the Council buildings have dual flush toilets?
What about the library?
Is the Council really trying to save water?
10:13 AM, January 19, 2006
What is the council going to do with its swimming pool, I believe they top it up with mains water. Under level 4 restrictions it is illegal to use town water for pools. Double standards!
Council should be doing everything in its power to help residents with saving water, and yes encouraging residents to change to dual flush toilets, as I could imagine a lot of residents have single flush toilets which work perfectly okay, but use more water.
That would not be a waste of ratepayers money. No different then giving a rebate to install a rainwater tank, actually only 10%.
1:59 PM, January 19, 2006
The Council is not interested in conserving water, only in introducing their recycling plan - it's a revenue raiser.
1:56 AM, January 20, 2006
If residents are only installing dual flush toilets because they need to replace them.
Then what about buying a front loading washing machine, wouldn't that be replacing a machine that needed to be replaced! You can buy some very good water saving top loading washing machines as well.
One of the councillors even got a rebate for buying a front loading washing machine, and she boasted how quickly she got the rebate.
7:26 AM, January 20, 2006
True, but a toilet is used several times over the course of a day while a washing machine is used once or twice a week.
I'm in favour of offering incentives for washing machines but incentives for dual flush toilets shouldn't be ignored.
9:04 PM, January 20, 2006
Dual flush loos 'key to saving water'
November 14, 2005
Dual flush loos rather than desalination plants and new dams could be the best way to save billions of litres of water.
An infrastructure conference will hear on Tuesday that dual flush toilets - which enable the user to choose a small flush over a large one - could save the nation more than 101 billion litres of water every year.
GWA International, whose companies include toilet manufacturer Caroma, believes governments would save time and money by paying rebates to people to retrofit their toilets with dual flush loos.
Infrastructure First has been releasing a series of papers as part of its efforts to boost awareness about Australia's long term infrastructure needs.
GWA group marketing manager Tony Rusten, who will address Tuesday's Infrastructure First paper release, said retrofitting programs had worked well in the United States, with rebates and vouchers available to homeowners to offset the cost.
"Governments and the community should jointly shoulder financial responsibility for a retrofit program rather than leave the burden of water conservation to be shouldered by new home buyers," he said.
"A retrofit initiative is the lower cost and most immediate solution for significant water savings around Australia."
Mr Rusten said saving 101 billion litres of water through dual flush loos was a more efficient way of conserving water than desalination plants or shifting water between catchments.
The president of BlueScope Water, Col Weatherstone, will use Tuesday's report release to call for a national plan to install rainwater tanks in the nation's backyards.
He said rainwater tanks would delay the need for new dams by 80 years.
"The installation of 5,000 litre rainwater tanks for hot water, toilet, laundry and outdoor use at an installation rate of between one and two per cent of households per annum will significantly defer the need for augmentation projects, such as new dams," he said.
"It will harvest water that is currently just running off into drains and by avoiding projects such as increased pumping from rivers or new dams, will lower greenhouse gas emissions."
12:48 PM, January 22, 2006
Inventor flush with success? Absoloo-tely
By Richard Macey
November 18, 2005
Ken Palmer has not even started mass producing his water saving invention, but one parched country council has already ordered 50.
"It's secret is simplicity," the enthusiastic mayor of Goulburn Mulwaree, Paul Stephenson, said yesterday.
A Mosman inventor, wedding car operator and former engineer, Mr Palmer has developed a gadget he says will save up to nine litres every time a conventional single-flush toilet is called on to dispose of liquid waste.
The device, which he believes will sell for about $20, does away with the need to spend hundreds of dollars buying and installing a factory-made dual-flush toilet.
It is a double-lever that is screwed over the top of the existing button. Push one lever, and a normal full flush sends the solids on their way. But press the other lever and it only partially depresses the button, reducing the flow to as little as three litres.
"It take three minutes to fit and you don't need a plumber," said Mr Palmer, who has invested three years working on the idea, describing his current version as "Mark 23". "It physically limits the pushing of the button. It's stupidly simple."
According to Sydney Water, about 15 per cent of water used by homes goes down the toilet.
Tom Godfrey of SAI Global, which audits products to ensure they meet Australian standards, said the idea "has the potential to revolutionise the way people flush their toilets. It's high time we put more thought into the way we answer the call of nature."
Mr Palmer, a direct descendant of John Palmer, the purser on the First Fleet's Sirius "and Australia's first banker", expects it will be months before his device is available in shops. But Goulburn Mulwaree council, down to 36 per cent of its water supply, last month voted to buy 50 for residents to test. They will be sold at cost price, about $10.
"We were really impressed," said Cr Stephenson. "Water is going to get more expensive, so it won't take long to get your money back."
Mr Palmer, who has given about 35 of his water saving devices to friends for testing, estimated it could be fitted to about 60 per cent of toilets. His other inventions include a carrying frame for wine boxes.
12:53 PM, January 22, 2006
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