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SAVING WATER
/ TOILETS
source: http://www.environment
-agency.gov.uk/subjects
/waterres/287169/
287245/?lang=_e
www.ec.gc.ca/water/en/info/
pubs/FS/e_FSA6.htm
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Dual-flush and low-flush toilets can cut household water use by up to 20%, and save more than half the water used in flushing toilets…- typically, every household uses about 50 litres of water per person per day for WC flushing. This represents about 35% of all domestic water use. The most efficient WCs can reduce this volume to around 20 litres or less per person per day;
- keep in mind that 18 litres per flush (the average amount in old toilets), assuming 4.5 flushes per person per day, translates into nearly 30,000 litres of clean, fresh water per year just to get rid of 650 litres of body waste. A 6 litre flush toilet - an ultra-low-volume (ULV) modern toilet - only use about 10,000 litres to do the same task;
- the ULV toilet not only uses less water, it produces less wastewater. If your municipality applies a sewer surcharge on your water bill, the investment in the better toilet could translate into a 50% reduction in your combined water/sewer bill;
- where WC replacement is not an option, the flush volume of older toilets can often be reduced. A number of devices are available, or can be improvised, that displace a volume of water in the cistern and so reduce each flush by that amount, typically a litre. Before and after fitting such a device check that the flush works well, that the inlet valve does not leak and that it is adjusted so that the water is up to the level marked in the cistern.
Several new technologies offer the promise of increased toilet efficiency and effectiveness in the coming years…- dual flush toilets are a technology that has been available for years, but the success of new models from Australia has spurred some US manufacturers to offer their own dual flush models. Dual flush toilets provide the user with two flush options – a full flush that uses 1.6 gallons (6.05 litres) of water and a partial flush that uses approximately half the water or 0.8 gallons (3.08 litres). A new dual flush model that uses 1.2 (4.54 litres) and 0.6 gallons (2.27 litres) per flush is also available;
- one gallon per flush: a one gallon (3.78 litres) per flush pressure assist toilet will soon be available in the US. If the product works as advertised it will reduce flush volumes by 38% over 1.6 gpf toilets;
- waterless toilets: composting and incinerator toilets are completely waterless options for some residential toilet applications. These products are expensive and do require some maintenance, but case studies report that users are very satisfied with these products;
- European electric toilets: in Europe a new electric toilet technology offers the possibility of water savings, but not energy efficiency. The toilet is constructed with a small electric grinder in the trap. The grinder, similar to a garbage disposal, grinds all solids and then uses only a small amount of water to remove the waste into the sewer.
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