Due to the current drought, most California residents are now required to scale back their water consumption by 25%. However, in Beverly Hills the required reduction is 32% because the city has historically used more water than other communities in the state, mostly for lavish landscaping.
In a rush to find ways to reduce consumption, the city is now paying any business that purchases and installs a waterless urinal $500. This is a $200 increase over the rebate the city offered before California’s water restrictions went into effect.
In most cases, the $500 will cover not only the cost of the new no-water urinal but also much if not all of the installation charges, which typically are less than the installation of a water-using urinal.
“One reason they are doing this is because waterless urinals offer immediate water consumption relief,” says Klaus Reichardt, CEO and founder of Waterless Co., Inc. “One water-using urinal uses about 100 gallons of water per day in [for instance] a typical office building. If a facility has three of these urinals, that’s 300 gallons of water each and every day that can be saved.”
Reichardt believes rebate programs such as this will spread to other parts of California as well as to many Western states due to ongoing drought conditions.
Rebates for high-efficiency toilets have also been increased. Beverly Hills businesses can now receive rebates of $300.
