Gwinnett residents are now saving 54 million gallons of water every year thanks to a rebate program that started two years ago. The rebates pay homeowners either $50 or $100 for replacing old, inefficient toilets. About 5,000 have been replaced so far.
Water Resources Deputy Director Peter Frank said the more efficient toilets save the average customer about 15 percent on the water bill and help reduce demand for water from Lake Lanier. He said the County has spent about $400,000 on the program since it began and the savings are …

In a positive step toward reducing energy use, Gwinnett County has taken the US Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA’s) ENERGY STAR Challenge and announced a fundamental commitment to protect the environment by becoming an ENERGY STAR Partner.
The ENERGY STAR Challenge, launched by EPA in March 2005, calls for an energy efficiency improvement of 10 percent or more for the more than five million commercial and industrial buildings in the United States. Energy is often generated by burning fossil fuels, which emits greenhouse gases that contribute to climate change. Forty-five percent of …

The City of Suwanee’s new City Hall, opened in February, was designed to become the second public facility in Gwinnett County to earn LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certification. And the community of 16,500 is well-known regionally for its award-winning open space initiative and the new parks it created. But now the City is taking its commitment to going green to the next level.
Suwanee City Council adopted at its June 25 meeting several policies that should help the City earn certification through the Atlanta Regional Commission’s (ARC) Green …