News
April 8, 2009
Council Approves Funding For Water Conservation Incentive Initiative
The Raleigh City Council voted unanimously today to establish permanent funding for a water conservation incentive initiative. The first initiative to be funded is a gravity-flush toilet replacement rebate program. Under this first program, the City will offer $100 rebates to City of Raleigh water and sewer customers who confirm in accordance with the City’s guidelines that they have purchased and installed water-efficient flush toilets to replace their existing flush toilets.
In order to meet the minimum qualifications for the toilet replacement rebate program, the new flush toilets must be “water sense certified” and not use more than 1.28 gallons of water per flush. Over the next few weeks, the City’s Public Utilities Department will develop the toilet rebate application/installation certification forms that customers must complete and submit to the City in order to receive the rebate funds. In order to insure that proper water conserving toilets have been installed, the City will conduct random inspection audits at some customer locations that receive the rebate funding.
To provide initial funding for the toilet replacement rebate program, the City will use $500,000 in unspent funds from its water reuse system account. Annual funding for the water conservation incentive initiative will come from a $200 increase in sewer nutrient fees, which are collected from all new sanitary sewer customers connecting to the City’s sewer system. The sewer nutrient fee increase is effective July 1.
For more information on the gravity-flush toilet replacement rebate program, contact Cinnamon Williams in the City’s Public Utilities Department at 857-4540 Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
In other action today, the City Council asked the City administration for more information regarding a proposed 17 percent increase in water and sewer rates. Council members will discuss the proposed rate increase at their April 21 meeting.
Prepared by:
John Boyette
Public Affairs Specialist
Public Affairs Department
For More Information Contact:
Dale Crisp
Director
Public Utilities Department
One Exchange Plaza, Suite 620
Raleigh, NC 27602
919-857-4540
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