Toward Sustainable Communities
1~~~4~~03s Water Offset Requirements In the California cities of Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo, and Santa Monica, water offset requirements on new projects require developers to replace old toilets in existing buildings with low-flow models in order to free up enough water to build (see Fulton 1991). In Ontario, the Town of Newmarket requires watersaving devices in toilets as a condition of subdivision agreement, while the City ofNiagara Falls requires lowflow bathroom basin faucets, showerheads, and toilets for any development subject to site plan control and for new plans for subdivision. Tenant User Fees for Water To protect water reserves and reduce the use of drinking water in the metropolitan area, the city government of Hamburg, Germany (pop. 1.8 million) has made tenants rather than property owners responsible for the water use fee. The ruling will lead to the retrofitting of water meters in apartments and end automatic billing of owners for water use based only on the size of their property and the number of occupants (see PIA 14( l>?January 1990). Grey Water Recycling The Los Angeles county board of supervisors voted for a study on the safeuse of”grey water”-recycled waste water from residential sources. Without objection, the board ordered the departments of health services and public works to issue recommendations within 60 days on how residents might use grey water from sinks, bathtubs and washing machines to irrigate trees and shrubs (see LADN 1991). San Luis Obispo, California allows the use ofgrey water (see Skinner 1990). 192