About 25% of our water use nationwide comes from our buildings, which is good, because it’s an area where we have more control than, say agriculture. We can do a lot quickly and for not a lot of money compared to things like reservoirs.

Take the average 20-year-old U.S. office building. Assume 30 flushes per day among 20 3.5 gpf toilets. According to the American Standard water saving calculator, replacing those toilets with a high-efficiency 1.1 gpf toilet will save 109,500 gallons of water per year! Just from one building. With water bills running at that national average of $6.06 per 1,000 gallons used, such a retrofit will save the building owners $664 per year.