2004/10/27 Council Agenda Packet

Water Conservation Audit- Cocoon House • 11 Toilets Most of the toilets have flow rates of about 3-3.5 gallons per flush. Replacing these with low volume toilets will reduce the flow rate to 1.6 gallons per flush. Currently, there is one tank style 1.6 gallon per flush toilet in one of the first floor bathrooms at the Cedar Street and a 1.6 gallon per flush flushometer toilet in the staff restroom near the kitchen in the Pine Street site that do not need replacement. Two toilets are recommended for replacement at the Cedar Street site and 13 toilets are recommended for replacement at the Pine Street site. The estimated cost and savings of this measure are shown below. Note the savings reflect reductions in water and wastewater. Estimated measure cost (15 toilets x$190)*: $2,850 Estimated water usage savings per year(ccf): 113 Estimated water savings per year: $161 Estimated wastewater savings per year: $354 Simple payback period (years): 5.5 * including installation cost Many low flush toilets perform very well and have high customer satisfaction as evidenced by recent tests and surveys conducted by Consumer Reports, National Homebuilders'Association and various water utilities. Several good sources of information on water efficient toilets include: ■ Consumer Reports periodically reports the results of tank style toilet tests. http://www.consumerreports.orq. • Seattle Public Utilities recently funded a test of low flush toilets. The 49 tested toilets are listed at: www.savingwater.orq/docs/toilets.pdf, and the best toilets under$100 at: www.savingwater.orq/docs/toilets under 100.pdf. • The National Home Builders'Association recently completed an international test of low flow toilets for water conservation groups. This report, as well as other reports can be found at: www.cuwcc.orq/products tech.lasso. One of the features to look for in selecting toilets is a 2" glazed trapway. Smaller unglazed trapways are more likely to plug up. 6 3 10/11/2004 Page 3