Thinking Outside the Water Closet

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Many historians and analysts have warned that in the near future water will become a reason for war.  For this as well as environmental concerns it is important that we examine and be mindful of how our water is being used.  So what is the overall impact when we change our water consumption behaviors at home?  To answer this we need first to look at how water is being used.

(billions of gallons/day)

The graphic above summarizes the daily usage of water in the U.S. in 2005 according to the United State Geological Survey(1).  So we should keep in perspective that any efforts at home are impacting less than 15% of the total consumption.  For now we will focus on this 15% and we'll explore food consumption (irrigation) in another post.  As the EPA reports that toilets account for 40% of indoor water usage(2),or 30% of total household usage.  And so we'll focus there for now.  So let's explore the alternatives one by one.


Low Flush Towlets
As of 1994, all residential toilets in the US must be manufactured to use no more than 1.6 gallons per flush (gpf) which was a drastic reduction from the previous limit of 3.4 gpf.  Today there are many varieties of low-flush and dual flush toilets using as little as 0.8 gpf. The upside to these toilets are clear, the water consumption is reduced resulting in a reduced footprint on the environment and subsequently a reduced water bill.  Another benefit is that maintenance on these toilets is no different from an ordinary flush toilet.  Greywater systems may also be incorporated in order to reduce or even eliminate potable water consumption.  The downside is that if unless greywater is used, potable water is still being consumed.


Compost Toilets
These toilet use virtually no water.  Their only is the raw materials needed to make compost which can later be of a quality that may then be used for growing anything from flowers to tomatoes.  Other than compost, the owner of such a toilet benefits from a negligble water bill and a footprint reduction beyond low flush toilets.  There is also no plumbing required for the installation.  The downside is that there is more work involved in that you don't simply flush things "away".  Instead the owner needs to periodically empty the compost and for most models, the compost must be frequently tumbled.  Much like other radical solutions, there is a cult following that subscribe to the production of this "humanure", a term first coined by Joseph Jenkins.



Humanure (Flickr)

Waterless Urinal

Much like the compost toilets, these urinals use no water in their operation.  Water is used solely during cleaning which must be done more frequently than with flush toilets.  All that is needed for installation is drainage.  And although water does not need to be routed to the urinal, many tradesman associations and unions have lobbied state, provincial and national governments for legislation would mandate installation of full piping that would be used for a regular urinal.  Therefore, if you chose to install one of these, it's important that you understand the rules of your state or province.  Foul odor is a common complaint of these urinals, to which manufacturers state that the recommended cleaning schedule and procedure will avoid this.  Another complaint is that of accelerated corrosion of the drainage piping, in which the acidity of our urine is the primary culprit.  The answer to this has been to install PVC drainage instead of copper where the former is immune to corrosion.  Beyond the consumer complaints, there are concerns regarding the chemicals used by some model types which make use of a chemical seal.  This seal needs regular replacement and slowly dissolves and runs through the drainage system and slips into the water cycle.  As the sealing technology is proprietary, there is little known about the affects it may have on the environment.

References

(1)  U.S. Geological Survey (2012).  Water Use in the United States, 2005.  Retrieved October 2012 from http://ga.water.usgs.gov/edu/wateruse.html

(2)  U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (March 2012).  How to Conserve Water and Use It Effectively.  Retrieved October 2012 from http://water.epa.gov/polwaste/nps/chap3.cfm