Project Goal
WaterNow partnered with the City of Charlottesville, Virginia to review and revamp a 20-year-old toilet rebate program, aiming to revitalize the long-standing program and add to the estimated 787 million gallons of water which the program has saved over its lifetime. The project sought to identify and remove barriers to participation by low-income and disadvantaged community members, reduce energy use by lowering water and wastewater demand, and save Charlottesville residents money on their water bills.
Our Approach
Through one of its oldest water conservation initiatives, the City of Charlottesville offers a rebate of $100 for the replacement of high-water-use toilets in older homes with efficient WaterSense labeled appliances. In recent years, enrollment in the program has slackened. WaterNow and the City began the project with a thorough exploration of existing data on participation in the program, to understand which neighborhoods and demographic groups within the community have yet to be reached. This research was combined with insights from exemplary rebate programs delivered by other communities, and with input from local community stakeholders, to inform suggested expansions and additions to the program, in combination with the development of an outreach plan.
Outcomes
The project outlined several options for updating the existing rebate program (including an expansion of eligibility, an increase in rebate amounts, and the introduction of a tiered rebate program) and implementing a pilot direct toilet installation program.
An implementation plan maps out key considerations related to customer eligibility, toilet eligibility, outreach strategies and participant recruitment, administrative processes (such as liability issues and partnership structures), and project costs and budgets for the City’s preferred paths forward. The project also created an outreach and education plan, focused on engaging neighborhoods with lower participation rates, and a set of program metrics, that could be implemented across any of these scenarios.
Drawing on the implementation plan developed through this project, the City is currently moving ahead with a pilot direct toilet installation program and an update to its current rebate program, expected to launch in the 2025 fiscal year.
