740 South Olive Street, an affordable senior housing community located in the heart of downtown Los Angeles, was originally built in 1922 as home to Pacific Bell. It was converted to apartments in 1979 and renovated in 2009, but still had older toilets and water fixtures, which meant higher water consumption. Severe drought conditions in California caused businesses and officials to seek a variety of solutions to help reduce water consumption.
Through a partnership with Sustainability Solutions and Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP), the property was able to fund the building-wide installation of Stealth toilets, high-efficiency showerheads, and bathroom aerators with LADWP’s commercial retrofit program.
According to LADWP, the installations resulted in a decrease of 35% in water use which equates to saving $30,000 a year. These savings are keeping the property in the Tier 1 allotment (lowest water utility costs). South Olive Street’s Regional Facilities Manager, Mark Hines, notes that the Sustainability Solution team “maintained a high level of professionalism. Our tenants encountered minimal disruption from the initial audit to the final installation.”