Water Conservation and the Homeowner

November 28, 2011


The development of plumbing fixtures that use less water has been ongoing for some time. Some California areas such as San Diego have made the installation of low-flow toilets mandatory when you sell a home. To date, in our real estate market area, I do not think that there are any municipalities that make this requirement. However, effective January 1, 2012 homeowners will be required to disclose whether their property has water conserving fixtures. This new law also states that by January 1, 2017, a single family residence built on or before January 1, 1994 must generally be equipped with water conserving plumbing fixtures. Water conserving fixtures are low-flow toilets, shower heads and faucets.


Here's an idea for a holiday present: a special shower head or a new kitchen faucet. Check our your local home improvement stores and you can find some pretty classy new plumbing fixtures. Of course a side benefit of changing to water conserving fixtures will be a reduction in your water bill.