Last Thursday in my local newspaper The Chico Enterprise-Record there was an editorial about saving water through bureaucracy: Editorial: Toilet police don’t want job. It was was of those “only in California” type things about a new law with good intentions, but eye rolling implementation that only policy wonks could dream up.
I agreed with the complaint about bureaucracy part, but the editorial came off as saying water use and water conservation wasn’t all that important an issue, and that gave me cause to introduce the PDO to local readers as well as something I learned about toilets in Australia when I visited there, adopting for my home and office, and wrote about in A green product worth recommending. Here’s my letter to the editor, where I crammed as much into the 250 word limit as I could, and following that, the reaction from the editor.
Chico Enterprise-Record Posted: 01/11/2014 09:52:52 PM PST
I read your Thursday editorial on the “toilet police” with amusement, but also with concern. Saving water is an important issue, especially since the Pacific Decadal Oscillation flipped to cool phase in 2008. We are now seeing effects manifested as cooler, drier, winters, with little rainfall; yes, drought.
Visiting Australia in 2010 (where low rainfall is much like California), I noticed that all toilets were “dual flush” with two buttons; number 1 and number 2. Number 1 uses 50 percent less. Seeing drought coming here, I’ve since retrofitted my home and office toilets to dual flush. It’s easy to do, and under $25 at any home improvement store.
The value to dual flush toilets is not only saving water, but also saving on your water bill. Since California Water Service Company seems hell bent on raising rates to cover pensions (because we’ve used less water, providing lower revenue), here’s your chance for payback by reducing water consumption even more.
Since California greens routinely challenge more reservoirs, and state government planned poorly to meet growth, this next drought will likely be harder than the big one in the 1970s, the last time the Pacific Decadal Oscillation was in cool phase for an extended period. In 1977, the Pacific Decadal Oscillation switched to a warm phase, and the drought eased, but 1985 to 1991 saw another drought.
Here’s your chance to get ahead of the bureaucrats before the “toilet police” come knocking. Meanwhile, pray for El Niño in fall 2014.
— Anthony Watts, Chico
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Here’s the reaction from the editor – he made it his Sunday column.
David Little: Save water without toilet cops
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For those of you that want a dual flush toilet retrofit, here is what they look like.
The kit is pretty simple, and assembles without any need for tools. Pictorial instructions in English and Spanish are provided.
Price? Less than $20, and at that price it will pay for itself in a few months, depending on usage. This system is guaranteed for five years, so I’m pretty sure I’ll not only get my investment back, but a significant return on it. Plus, my kids like it and they were fascinated watching dad replace this thing and now having a pushbutton 1/2 instead of a handle.
Want one? Available here at Amazon Get it, highly recommended.
Update: For those that like the traditional handle rather than the button, see this model.
And finally here’s everything you ever wanted to know about the Pacific Decadal Oscillation: http://wattsupwiththat.com/tag/pacific-decadal-oscillation/
And the WUWT reference page for that and other oceanic oscillations:
http://wattsupwiththat.com/reference-pages/ocean-pages/oceanic-oscillation/
Hopefully, per this ensemble NINO 3.4 SST Anomalies Forecast, we will be out of La Niña soon:
National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) – Climate Prediction Center – Click the pic to view at sourceDiscover more from Watts Up With That?
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Low flush might save water but if the sewers aren’t designed for it then it causes more problems than it solves as the system gets more blockages.
Can I endorse a couple of comments above from those of us who have had dual flushes for some time. The components can be quite cheap and ‘plasticky’ and are not that robust especially if you have children. Its worth trying to get a good quality system as trying to fix one that’s broke is going to be expensive.
tonyb
California does have dumb dam policies that result in water flowing into the ocean during abundant water years, and droughts in lean years. These are utterly stupid policies in a state blessed with mountains and innumerable valleys.
My proposed remedy, posted before, is to build a transcontinental canal to transport flood waters from the eastern states to the parched western states. This would be similar in size and scope to the Erie Canal, in New York State. Energy used in pumping the water would be partially recovered by existing hydroelectric plants at Glen Canyon and Hoover dams.
See http://sowellslawblog.blogspot.com/2010/03/solution-to-water-in-west.html
ozspeaksup says:
January 12, 2014 at 5:14 am
“what clothes wash water you dont save to buckets should be going onto the garden anywa”
Not so sure this is a good idea. Known as grey water, clothes wash water contains bacteria and chemicals. Dumping grey water onto the ground is illegal in Florida.
Put in a dual flush two years ago. Flushing with a button is cool, but the number 1 flush uses just as much water as my lever-driven low use toilets the way I have them set up. The number 2 button uses twice as much and nearly completely empties the tank. Now it seems as if the button mechanism requires less maintenance than the conventional flushers, but other than that I don’t see any benefit to adopting the technology.
LOL, automating No.-1 and No.-2 flushes, more economic stimulation by regulation demanding unnecessary technological fixes.
“If it’s YELLOW it’s mello, if it’s BROWN flush it down!”
I was born and raised in Santa Clara, California (family was eponym of Coffin Road) and taught water conservation at my mother’s knee. Now I am surrounded by the largest body of potable water and pay per gallon for disposal – the logic still works.
OK if the stronger flush is as fulsome as it always used to be. In the UK we have some dual flush toilets with a choice between low and reaaally low. Sometimes they’re just called “lo-flush” and out comes a pitiful trickle.
If you want to avoid embarrassing situations where your guests stay locked in the toilet for twenty minutes waiting for it to refill and flushing furiously I’d research it very carefully or stick with what you have.
Best to check the flow rate/capacity you already have and ensure the high version of the new dual flush is at least that high.
I consider the proliferation of the exclusively lo-flush versions as being yet more nannying from Eco-loons…following the lead of the safety loons who come up with ideas like the spring-loaded, 200lb fire doors that slam in your face wherever you go in a new-build UK flat and which are a legal requirement. They are so intolerable, they eventually get propped open permanently, making the safety situation worse.
I installed two dual-flush toilets for my parents. They love theirs. The reason why they bought new toilets was because the new ones sit higher. The spent about $125 each on the toilets at Lowe’s hardware. Also budget $25 for other parts you might need. If you have an old toilet, consider replacing because, believe me, the new ones are easier to use. And toilets really are not that hard to install.
In re: low volume flushes and high volume colons. My Euorpean Ifö commode is ~30 y.o., ain’t been stopped yet, nor ever repaired! Unfortunately parts will be hard to come by and replacement will be with a stool built to a different, American, standard off-set from the wall.
I would be interested in finding out if this device will work in an older “high flush” toilet from the 1980’s. I have such a toilet in my basement bathroom that gets occasional use. I’ve tried similar low-flow flush devices in that toilet, but invariably I had to adjust the device to near maximum water use as it seems that toilet needs all the water it can get for any kind of proper flush.
Water conservation as a blanket policy over the entire planet is Green nonsense.
Water doesn’t leave the planet and despite natural circulatory cycles such as the PDO that leads to localised droughts as Anthony mentions, it’s raining cats and dogs in most major cities.
Water is the next big part of our lives the globalists want to completely control and it’s tied into their eco fascist tyranny.
Central to the alarmists’ false claims of runaway feedback is the extra water evaporation that traps heat, this leads to extra precipitation (in their models). How they can possibly claim the need for water conservation as part of global warming is ludicrous. Then again I guess, drought is global warming, more rain is global warming, storms are global warming, lack of storms is global warming etc.
There is nothing unusual or unprecedented about the jetstream at the moment, Sudden Stratospheric Warmings caused by 11 year solar cycles in conjunction with Rosby waves modulated by the QBO are likely the cause and they’ve happened many times before in history.
There is zero correlation with global warming, particularly as the Arctic ice sheet is approaching normal and well above years around the 2007 minimum with less ice that didn’t have this jetstream pattern, so the ‘less ice, more heat absorbtion and thus less heat differential and weaker oscillating jetstream’ theory doesn’t hold water ( see what I did there).
In Hungary we use artesian water (which is mineral water as well!) to flush the toilet. As you might now my country is located in the Carpathian basin where the climate is continental with hot summers and cold winters. And there are droughts in the summer.
There are two main rivers (Danube and Tisa), but because of the environmentalist and political crap we can’t buid a damn dam on those rivers (there are only 2 dams on Tisa which were built in 1958 and 1973). So we can’t use the river water for irrigation, and because of that we deplete the undergroud water.
So anyway, installing dual flash on toilets is a way to spare water and money (since in Hungary water is expensive), but there are other techniques as well like the dry toilets.
There are three generations of these toilets:
First-generation toilets were the latrines or backhouses of our grandparents. These toilets were smelly and very polluting due to anaerobic fermentation (absence of air).
Second-generation toilets developed in the 20th century are mainly characterized as source-separating Scandinavian-type toilets. To minimize the frequency of the required emptying of the waste, urine is first separated from the faeces: this is the toilet’s most important characteristic. Urine, which represents about 90 % of the excreta, is diverted to a separate storage tank while the faeces are collected in a main compartment. To reduce their volume, these are usually dried with a heating element.The dried faeces and the urine are then commonly used in the garden and/or for agricultural use.
Third-generation toilets differ from the others on how they work, biologically. Smell is inhibited thanks to the addition of a litter composed of plant matter that is rich in cellulose. This is the basis of the biolitter toilet or BLT. In this toilet, plant cellulose biologically inhibits the enzymatic reactions in the excreta that are responsible for the odours. This can only work in the presence of urine. To prevent anaerobic fermentation (with the consequent odours), the toilet’s receiving capacity cannot be expected to exceed the volume of one week’s production. Therefore, the emptying of the container is more frequent.Before reuse for agricultural or gardening purposes, the BLT’s effluent must be composted in a two-stage process, over a two-year period. The compost thus obtained is suitable for all plants, without any health risk. (Source: http://www.eautarcie.org/en/05c.html)
Here is link of the website: http://www.eautarcie.org/en/index.html
It is quite useful.
I think it is a very good idea to develop a biolitter toilet, because it can spare a lot of water, avoids water contamination (there is no need to waste energy by cleaning contaminated water). But it also provides good fertiliter that puts back the nutrients, which were taken out by crop production, to the soil.
PaulH @ur momisugly January 12, 2014 at 6:47 am
“I would be interested in finding out if this device will work in an older “high flush” toilet from the 1980′s.”
No, it will not. Low volume flush valves on “traditional” toilets will only dilute the urine and will not provide enough water to trigger the syphon action that fully clears the bowl. If you want a low volume flush you will need a low volume flush toilet.
On Catalina Island where I live, 90% of the toilets use salt water straight off the ocean. Since most of the world’s population lives within a short distance of the ocean, maybe it’s something to think about. (Modern plastics materials can handle the corrosion factor).
Off topic and I’ll gladly be blacklisted for it.
[snip – no need to be blacklisted, but it is wildy off topic. Why not simply post it in a relevant thread – Anthony]
‘The value to dual flush toilets is not only saving water, but also saving on your water bill. Since California Water Service Company seems hell bent on raising rates to cover pensions …’
Chicago’s doing the same thing. The city has always gotten its water from stations out in Lake Michigan. The suburbs got their water from wells and were always envious of the superior quality of the lake water. Well, that changed quite a while ago and the suburbs now get their water from Lake Michigan. But it’s through the city. Chicago is brokey broke broke: a combination of the pensions and the lavish investments in a failed attempt to entice the Olympics to come here. So, to help make up the deficit Mayor Rahm Emanuel (Obama’s former Chief of Staff), besides a red light camera and parking ticket (including to handicap parking placard holders) spree, has significantly increased the price the suburbs (which obviously can’t vote in the mayoral races) pay for Lake Michigan water. My bill has more than doubled since 2002.
‘Since California Water Service Company seems hell bent on raising rates to cover pensions (because we’ve used less water, providing lower revenue), …’
That’s what will finally break the whole thing, and probably nothing else. When all the exhortations to conserve, reduce, lower our living standards, and so on, reduce the tax money that goes into the Treasury this whole environmental religion will start to collapse. It will have become the parasite that destroyed its host.
I have some low end Kohl toilets I installed about 8 years ago and if you
push down the handle 1/2 or 3/4 and release it within a second or so it
gives a small flush but if you push all the way or hold for 2-3 seconds,
it empties pretty completely. Pretty cool.
I have no interest in leaving pee in the toilet. I flush with the old version. I want water in the pipes leading out of my house…it’s they way they were intended to work. Water is never created or destroyed, just moved and phase-transferred. I’ll keep my flusher. Thanks though!
As Anthony (and also many government officials) stated, pensions are a growing problem. I saw a simple proposed solution:
1. Effective immediately, retirees are allowed to cross on a red light.
2. On January 1st, 2018 it becomes mandatory.
I encountered two-position flushes in Japan when I first went there in 1970 and quickly realized the wisdom of their design. (The flush for #1 lasted as long as the lever was held active; for #2, the entire tank was used for a flush.) They were well established at that time, so it seems that they were in common use by then. I saw the Toto company name on the majority of toilets, so they may have invented them. I believe that other countries have just copied them (or Toto expanded to other countries).
Now the washing toilet has quickly established itself in new installations in that country, so the two-position flush may actually be vanishing. Since the washing toilet heats the seat and the wash water, the electrical consumption increases.
One thing that travel teaches is the differences in toilet design and usage…..
IanM
Tom S, I pay 5¢ per gallon for disposal. I doubt your pipes are below street header level, IOW “water [always full] in the pipes …”
Tom J, I live seven miles north of the Door County Peninsula.
Wouldnt more dams and reservoirs help with all that nasty sea level rise?
I am steadfastly and deeply AGAINST this myth of ‘saving water’.
Water cannot and is not being ‘saved’. It runs in a cycle. What is being saved here is the water company’s infrastructure and distribution network. If people use less water, then the water companies simply need to make less reservoirs and less pipework. The amount of water in the world stays the same.
Making less reservoirs and less pipework is very bad. It means that there is no slack in the system when a drought comes. What should be being done is building adequate reservoirs to meet drought conditions. We should all be using LOTS of water to FORCE the water companies to invest in enough infrastructure.
People who ‘save’ water are simply encouraging ‘green’ mistakes, and will end up with a water distribution network which is not fit for purpose.
I see two problems here:
Firstly: The main drains have a very gentle slope and were designed expecting a certain amount of water, relative to the solids that are to be carried away. If lots of people use low-flush toilets then there is not enough water for the solids to be carried away. The water drains off and the solid matter starts to decompose and smell.
My understanding is that in Germany low-flush (and dual-flush) toilets have been common for a long time, so lots of people have them and the above problem has happened. Hence in some German cities in the summer street-washing lorries go out at night to flush down the drains.
Secondly: This seems to me to be a flap-valve toilet. Until recently in the UK these have not been permitted under building regulations* because they waste so much water.
Virtually any failure in a flap-valve system leads to water leaking out into the toilet bowl.
However the most common cause of a leak is not a failure but the fact that system is used with … water. Over time scale from the water builds up on the outlet and the flap-valve fails to seat properly, leading to a small but constant trickle of water.
Historically all toilets in the UK were of the syphon type which are *much* less likely to waste water.
Jim
I’m curious whether anyone actually measures the water savings from so-called low-flush toilets or whether savings are simply claimed based on model outputs. When we bought our house it had conventional (I think 2.4 gallon) toilets. We’ve since remodelled two bathrooms and had to install 1.6 gallon units.
Without going into indelicate details let me just say that a single flush doesn’t get the job done reliably for what is known as “solid waste”. I frequently end up requiring two flushes, which by my reckoning is 3.2 gallons. On several occasions we’ve had to have “flush training” sessions for our children after a spate of what we call “overflow events”. My explicit instructions were that unless you could see the bowl clear completely and see water running freely into the trap at the end of the flush cycle, flush a second time. It’s also true that a lot of flush valves close before even the nominal 1.6 gallons have drained from the tank. I issued further explicit instructions about holding the handle down until the tank was completely empty. I may be wasting water, but I find that infinitely preferable to clearing clogged toilets and cleaning up overflows.
That being said however, I do agree a user-selectable flush option is an obvious common-sense approach to the issue (which of course means it will never come out of government — why go for a solution that is cheap, and easily retrofitted to older toilets when you can mandate totally new ones). If we could just combine that with going back to the larger tanks, I bet my actual water use for toilets would go down.