The City of Madison says its new toilet rebate program will save residents from flushing money away.

As part of their Water Conservation and Sustainability plan, Madison Water Utility is offering rebates to citizens who upgrade their toilets to more eco-friendly models.

With the Toilet Rebate Program, Madison homeowners or landlords can choose to replace one toilet in their household with a newer, energy-efficient model and then apply to receive a $100 rebate from Madison Water Utility, according to a statement from the city.

“We want everyone to know the program is still ongoing and we set aside $250,000 in our budget for the program every year,” Water Utility spokesperson Amy Barrilleaux said. “Ideally we would like to give it all away!”

According to the city website, rebates are offered on a first come, first serve basis until the city is out of money for the program.

By installing a new toilet that is endorsed by the Environmental Protection Agency Water Sense Program, residents can save money on a monthly basis, according to the statement.

The statement estimates the program has saved more than 100 million gallons of water since its launch in 2009.

”We have had over 4,000 customers since the program started and as customers see the money they save every month on their water bill, it also serves as part of our education initiative as well,” Barrilleaux said.

Another part of the Water Conservation and Sustainability plan is the goal of “20 by 20,” the statement said. Achieving “20 by 20” would mean reducing per capita water use in the city of Madison by 20 percent by the year 2020, Barrilleaux said.

Barrileaux said toilets can be very wasteful appliances, which is another reason the city is promoting the program.

“Toilets are one of the biggest water-using appliances in a home and the older toilets waste a lot of water, up to seven gallons per flush,” Barrilleaux said. “So encouraging the replacement of these inefficient toilets with models that use no more than 1.28 gallons per flush moves us closer to our ’20 by 20′ conservation goal.”

Patrick Eagan, chair of the Environment and Resources Program in the Nelson Institute of Environmental Studies, agreed, adding that the program reminds citizens to be mindful of water conservation.

“The rebate program is a good idea because it helps send a signal to people that they should be conscious about their water use and the true cost of water,” Eagan said.

Eagan said other places, particularly in the western United States, have less access to water reserves. He said even though Madison does not have this problem, responsible resource use is still important.

However, Barrilleaux said the city’s sustainability program helps to conserve more than just water.

“When people think about conservation, you aren’t just conserving water but you also help conserve electrical energy that it takes for us to get water out of the ground…,” Barrilleaux said. “We definitely want to meet the ’20 by 20′ goal but we also want to change the way people to think about their water use and conservation potential.”