Add It Up - Straight flush

Gallons of water that could be saved daily if residents of Atlanta’s 16-county metro area installed “low-flow” toilets, showerheads and faucets: 24 million

Number of legislative committee meetings called for a 2004 bill that would require new metro Atlanta homes to be equipped with low-flow appliances, and older homes to be retrofitted before being sold: 0

Predicted water deficit by 2030, in gallons, if metro Atlanta doesn’t adopt aggressive conservation measures: 285 million

Estimated cost to secure water sources for metro Atlanta over the next 30 years if conservation mandates aren’t passed: $60 billion

Estimated cost to retrofit a one-and-a-half-bathroom home with low-flow appliances: $700

Estimated number of years it would take for low-flow appliances to pay for themselves through reduced water bills: 3

Since 1970, the percentage increase of Los Angeles’ population: 35

Since 1970, the percentage increase in water use in L.A., as a result of conservation and low-flow appliance incentives: 7

Accumulative amount of time, in years, the average person spends on the toilet: 3

Sources: Metropolitan North Georgia Water Planning District, Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, World Toilet Organization