TORONTO - Twenty-nine municipalities surrounding the Great Lakes have adopted a goal of reducing water consumption by 15 per cent, but provincial governments have a role to play and should ban the sale of old-fashioned, inefficient toilets, Toronto Mayor David Miller said Thursday.

The 20 Canadian and nine U.S. municipalities are aiming to hit their targets by 2015 in order to reduce strain on the Great Lakes and save money in the long run, Miller said.

"Water treatment and distribution is extremely energy-intensive; in some municipalities it represents the top energy consuming activity,'' Miller said during a conference call from Grand Rapids, Mich., where he attended the Great Lakes St. Lawrence Cities Initiative meeting.

"Consuming less water means consuming less energy, which means reducing greenhouse gases, and the silver lining is the municipalities save money through water conservation.''

Miller said residents will also save money on their water bills and can speed the process along by switching to low-flow toilets, which use about six litres of water per flush, compared to the 23 litres an older toilet can use.

Toronto has already offered rebates on the purchase of low-flow toilets, but the Ontario government and provincial governments across the country should ban the sale of old-fashioned toilets entirely, Miller said.

"We need the support of other governments to introduce stringent building codes and retail requirements for energy efficiency and water efficiency in appliances,'' Miller said.

"We need a ban on the sale of those toilets. ... It would make a very, very significant impact.''

Ontario Environment Minister Laurel Broten was not available for comment Thursday, but spokeswoman Lindsay Mack said the government has had building code regulations dealing with low-flow toilets since 1996.

All new homes must have low-flow toilets installed, and owners of homes built after the regulations came into effect are restricted to buying water-efficient toilets for renovation projects.

But owners of homes built before 1996 can install any toilet they like.

Mack said there have been recent discussions about making only low-flow toilets available for sale, but the government won't yet commit to that.

"A lot of other municipalities have offered financial incentives for people to buy low-flow toilets, and we also think that people recognize right away that low-flow toilets are using less water and therefore it's going to be cheaper,'' Mack said.

"We believe people already get that and understand that and that people make smart choices.''

Eleven of the 29 municipalities already have formal water-conservation plans in place, including Toronto and Sault Ste. Marie, Ont.

Toronto's plan has been in place since 2001 and will cost an estimated $74.3 million through 2011.

But Miller said the city will save more than $220 million in infrastructure upgrades it no longer needs. And it's also expected to save $29 million in operating costs during that period, and $4.5 million each year thereafter.

Sault Ste. Marie is also well on its way to meeting its targets, said Mayor John Rowswell.

"(We've) actually reduced our water consumption by 11 per cent since the year 2000, so I think we're leading the pack,'' Rowswell said.

"But the next four per cent is going to be very difficult because we reduced our 11 per cent by a very aggressive fix-the-leak program, and that tells you if you fix the leaks in your water system you can actually almost get there.''

The Ontario Sewer and Watermain Construction Association recently estimated that underground pipes carrying water to residents are so old and leaky that 20 to 40 per cent of all the water is lost in transit, which costs taxpayers about $1 billion.

The mayors also called on both federal governments to create an infrastructure fund to help pay for investments in the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence River.

Miller said the City of Toronto has invested more in Great Lakes funding in one year than the $40 million the federal government has committed to over five years.

"If you add up the contributions of all the cities and towns and regions, it would be enormous,'' Miller said of the disparity between municipal and federal funding.