The Regional Utilities Committee made a stink about conserving toilet water at a meeting Wednesday afternoon.
James Heaney, UF professor and chairman of the Department of Environmental Engineering Sciences, described how water is wasted.
Most indoor water is used by toilets, he said, and older toilets waste a lot.
New toilets use about 2 to 3 gallons of water per flush, he said, as opposed to 4 to 7 gallons used by older toilets.
"You think toilets are unglamorous?" he said. "It's the largest water user in the world."
The committee also heard a presentation by Gainesville Regional Utilities representatives Rick Hutton and Jennifer McElroy, who discussed the water wasted by sprinkler systems.
Hutton suggested an irrigation maintenance incentive system where people would receive a rebate for having their sprinkler systems checked for leaks and adjusted.
"You pretty much have to get serious about conservation," Hutton said.
Rob Brinkman, president of the local Sierra Club branch, proposed a tax on new homeowners who want to install sprinkler systems.
"I think we ought to impose fees on things we want to discourage," he said, "and I really think we need to discourage the use of irrigation systems."
Conservation measures will be discussed and voted on in a future meeting.
