Whatcom Water Alliance offering rebate program

Saving water and money just got easier. All single family homes in Whatcom County now qualify for water use efficiency rebates. The Whatcom Water Alliance’s new rebate program complements the city of Bellingham’s Water Use Efficiency Rebate Project to offer similar rebates for high efficiency WaterSense toilet upgrades, WaterSense irrigation controllers and high efficiency Energy Star clothes washer upgrades for all Whatcom County single family homes.

Whatcom County homeowners outside the city of Bellingham qualify for the Whatcom Water Alliance Rebate. Qualified applicants can receive up to:

• $100 back on purchases of high efficiency WaterSense toilet upgrades

• $75 back on purchases of WaterSense irrigation controllers

• $100 back on purchases of high efficiency Energy Star clothes washer upgrades. Whatcom Water Alliance rebate applications are easy to submit, but must be made within 60 days of purchase and are limited to one per property per calendar year.

Replacing old inefficient appliances with high efficiency models helps save our water and your money. Replacing an inefficient toilet alone can save the average family 13,000 gallons of water and $130 of water costs per year. Saving water does more than just save your cash. Most domestic water in Whatcom County is drawn directly from our rivers, streams and lakes. Using water efficiently in hot summer months reserves more of our local waters for fish, farms, wildlife and for us. Upgrade your toilet or washer to a high efficiency model or install an irrigation controller and save today. You can learn more and submit your rebate application at whatcomwateralliance. org/rebates.

The Whatcom Water Alliance Rebate Program is sponsored by the Whatcom Community Foundation. Courtesy Whatcom Water Alliance

Birch Bay Square boutique giving back to teen mothers

A Whatcom County boutique is helping send teen moms to summer camp this year through a Mother’s Day fundraiser.

Betty Be Good is selling surprise balls, which have four pieces of jewelry inside, to sponsor at least two teen mothers and their children to attend summer camp through Whatcom County YoungLives. The surprise balls retail for $30 and are sold in gold, silver and bronze. Only 40 surprise balls will be sold until Mother’s Day on Sunday, May 14. YoungLives, which provides mentorship for pregnant and parenting mothers, is put on through Young Life, a Christian ministry that has youth groups across the U.S. Betty Be Good is located in Birch Bay Square and on Front Street in Lynden. The stores also give two percent of profits to sex trafficking survivors living at Engedi Refuge in Lynden to purchase clothing.