TREPA NEWS: Feeling Flushed
Mar 14th, 2008 by Brian Hurlburt
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According to D.E.L.’s water resources strategy publication ‘Water for Life’, the average Canadian household with two to four people, uses 680 to 1360 litres of water PER DAY! Data gathered by the Pacific Institute show we are one of most profligate users of water of any nation – not necessarily an enviable achievement.
How can we reduce the amount of water used in our homes without hardship?
One way is to replace an old style toilet with one of the new low flush designs. 59% of the total municipally supplied water is used for residential purposes. Of all the water that comes into our homes, a full 30% is used to flush our toilets.
In the good old days, a “Water Closet” would normally cycle through about twenty litres of fresh water every flush. This was reduced to 13 litres twenty or so years ago, with reasonably good ‘flushability’, then newer standards were introduced that mandated a utilization rate of 6 litres per flush. That is when some major problems started to occur. We know through personal experience and frustration.
In many cases, manufacturers produced toilets that were, to put it mildly, rather ineffective, often needing to be flushed two or three times to clear. Although the situation has gotten better, with some ultra low flush /dual flush designs using as little as 3 litres per flush ( and working superbly), there are still many products on the market that will have you flushing again and again and again…(been there), thus totally negating any water savings at all, as well as raising your blood pressure in the process.
How do you make an informed decision when the time comes to replace your old SUV-like water guzzler? Ask your plumber? The building supply store salesman? (Most people will replace their own toilets – it is not difficult). Although these folks may be knowledgeable, they may be tempted to sell you a $600.00 toilet, when a less costly model may well outperform the luxury brand. Be aware that price is NOT an indicator of performance, and that there are MANY models on the market that perform very, very poorly, well below standards.
CMHC provides some excellent information on the Internet. One of the most creditable and comprehensive resources, we have found, is the website of the Canadian Water and Wastewater Association. Impartial testing of hundreds of makes and models currently available across Canada makes this a buyer’s dream of coherent data. A little research, and you too can have the toilet of your dreams….
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For YarmouthCounty.com, this has been Brian Hurlburt, and I invite you to Make it a great day!
Sincerely,
Brian Hurlburt
customerservice@yarmouthcounty.com
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