Building Rivers: A Million Toilets Can't Be Wrong

Building Rivers Blog Series

A New Era of California Water Solutions

Santa Monica and Other Cities Increase Water Self-Reliance

The Yolo Bypass - Hiding in Plain Sight

A Million Toilets Can't Be Wrong

Today, I’m going to write about toilets. Yes, I know, there really couldn’t be anything less eco-sexy. There is hardly a word in the English language associated with more crass punchlines. That goes double in the world of water policy. (Just try making a joke including the phrase “stormwater recycling” or “weather-based irrigation controller.”) But it’s time that we re-define our relationship with the toilet. After all, can you even begin to imagine your existence without master plumber Thomas Crapper’s  namesake?

 

 

   Although rarely acknowledged as such, our household toilets are among the most valuable and symbolic objects in our lives. While modern toilets represent the triumph of human society over the hazards of our own, um, “by-products,” toilets also symbolize the wastefulness of first-generation technology, the promise offered by water efficiency innovations, and the need to extend access to technology to everyone.

If your toilet was installed before 1992, chances are it uses between 3.5 and 7 gallons per flush (gpf). Toilets are the single largest water users in the home, and account for over a quarter of indoor residential water use.  Americans flush nearly 20 gallons of highly treated, potable water per person per day down the toilet. It doesn’t have to be that way. Upgrading to a more efficient toilet can reduce indoor water use by 16%, or about 20,000 gallons per year for a family of four. All modern toilets sold after 1992 use no more than 1.6 gpf, and the newest high efficiency toilet models use only 1.28 gpf. 

There are a variety of local rebate programs to incentivize Californians to install more efficient toilets; however, adoption of energy and water saving technologies has historically lagged in low income communities. The effects of this unequal adoption are both environmental and economic; efficient toilets can save a family $150 per year in water and sewer bills, and even more if they’re replacing old, leaky toilets. Over the lifespan of a toilet, that’s a lot of money. These consequences fit neatly into our toilet/modern society analogy, as low income communities often bear the brunt of social and environmental ills (particularly with respect to clean water access), and are often the last to gain access to technological innovations that can offer solutions.

To address the problem of unequal adoption, water and power utilities across the country have responded with innovative solutions that engage communities to promote the free installation of water efficient toilets. Some of these programs, like the Los Angeles ultra low flow toilet distribution program, have partnered with non-profit organizations and local schools to promote the distribution and installation of water efficient toilets in exchange for money that’s re-invested in the community.  The Los Angeles ultra low flow toilet distribution program, which took place between 1990 and 2007, was sponsored by the LA Department of Water and Power and funded in part by the Metropolitan Water District. Community groups and high school students helped to distribute and install toilets in return for $15-$25 donations per toilet to their organizations and schools. All in all, Metropolitan Water District estimates that the program distributed 1.15 million toilets to water users, saving tens of thousands of acre-feet annually. The program ended in 2007 due to its own success. Other California water utilities that have distributed free water efficient toilets to low income communities include the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission and the Santa Clara County Water District.

Despite the success of individual outreach programs, we still have a ways to go before water efficient toilets fully penetrate the market. A 2010 survey by the Water Research Foundation found that less than half of respondents, from a range of regions across the United States and Canada, had one or more ultra-low-flow toilet (1.6 gpf or less) installed in their home. To hasten the installation of water efficient toilets, in 2009 California passed SB 407, which calls for the complete replacement of inefficient plumbing fixtures in both residential and commercial property. All noncompliant plumbing fixtures are required to be replaced by January 1, 2019. This law can help all Californians realize the water saving value of low volume fixtures, but in its current state, the bill doesn’t have any teeth. Breathing life into this effort by imposing consequences for noncompliance could be one way to ensure regulations are observed.

Water efficient appliances have already proven themselves. At this point, we need to accelerate adoption with a combination of regulatory and low income assistance programs. As Southern California water districts seek to further reduce their reliance on the Delta by investing in the region’s virtual river of alternative water supplies, it’s important to keep in mind the successes of the past. Toilet retrofits are a proven solution that can help to dramatically decrease residential and commercial indoor water use. And ample opportunities exist for local utilities and local governments to help accelerate the adoption of our most undervalued appliance.  

 

*Image courtesy of Brett Jordan

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