About one month of the nine  Serenbe volunteers had their homes retrofitted with high-efficiency WaterSense®-certified models, Nick Marine and Tommy Linstroth headed north on I-75 to retrofit 11 more homes in Chastain Lakes, located northwest of Atlanta, in Kennesaw GA.  Meet some of the Chastain volunteers.

Chastain’s involvement came about through “green” real estate agent and Chastain resident Peg Grady, a long-time associate of the Marine Plumbing team.  The Chastain Lakes community was built more than 20 years ago, pre-dating current water efficiency standards that took effect in 1994.

Many of the Chastain Lakes bathrooms in the volunteers’ homes still  used 3.5 gallons per flush.  Replacing three of them with the American Standard H2Option dual flush toilet, we’d expect homeowners  could save more than $100 and 29,000 gallons of water a year, based on inputing Cobb County water rates into the Water Savings Calculator at www.americanstandard.com.

Chastain Lakes Water Conservation Volunteers

The Beebe Family

The Beebe’s have lived in their Chastain Lakes home for more than 18 years and have thoroughly enjoyed the convenient location and close-knit neighborhood feel.  With a busy family, Susan Beebe realized they were wasting a good amount of water with out-dated fixtures, but other priorities pushed major renovations to the back burner.  She was especially aware of water and money going down the drain when her teenage children would start the shower then become distracted by a phone call or task and leave the water running.  Georgia’s drought helped convince the family to be mindful of their water usage, and they are looking forward to reducing their impact even further with their new high-efficiency fixtures.

Peg Grady & Jim Fustino

A real estate agent with green home credentials,  Peg has both studied and practiced how to make a home more efficient.  She was attracted to Chastain Lakes for the sense of community, convenient location and quality of local schools.  The recent Georgia drought brought more awareness of water conservation as did her preparations to achieve her green real estate designation.  Considered by her neighbors to be the unofficial Mayor of Chastain Lakes, Peg and Jim stay active and help bring a real neighborhood sensibility to this community.

The Trippeers

Bob and Dot Trippeer moved to Chastain Lakes with their family 16 years ago as the result of a job transfer.  They had lived in metro Atlanta previously and settled in their current home to be near family.  Having designed and built their own homes in the past, they had a keen eye for their likes and dislikes.  They were attracted to their current home for its long-term potential and were mindful of features such as the master suite on the main level and a step-in shower that would be adaptable to their needs long after retirement. Dot says she and Bob are serious about going green which takes action in everything from recycling as much as possible, turning lights out in unoccupied rooms to choosing low-flow toilets as part of this test.  The family lived in many different homes following Bob’s career with the Department of Defense, but today is settled in a community and a home that is now suited for many years to come.

The Waterstone:Family

The Waterstones have owned their home for more than 20 years and found it an ideal setting to raise their son.  They enjoy an active lifestyle with a home on the lake and a pool.  Their modern home has a contemporary design that suited a growing family and has continued to meet their needs.  After noticing their water bill continuing to rise year after year they became more conscious of water conservation, especially important with the added water usage from their pool.

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