A Simple Strategy Flushed With Success
Newcastle Herald
Thursday February 8, 2007
IN Australia we have an estimated 3 million outdated water-guzzling toilets.
The Master Plumbers and Mechanical Services Association of Australia (MPMSAA) is calling for a national campaign by the federal and state governments to target the replacement of these old water-wasting toilets that flush away billions of litres of precious drinking water. The replacement of the toilets in domestic and commercial buildings is one of the most fundamental strategies that delivers an immediate and permanent return to Australia's water-saving. The change in water pricing by state governments such as Victoria will make the changing of these toilets economically more attractive to home owners and commercial building owners. The older toilets use 13 litres of water per single flush compared with modern toilets using between 4.5 litres for a full flush and 3 litres for a half flush; a water saving of more than 75 per cent. By implementing a strategy with a national target of 100,000 toilets a year to replace existing single-flush toilets, governments could seriously impact on Australia's water saving. By upgrading the 100,000 single-flush toilets across Australia an estimated 4 billion litres of drinking water would be saved each year compounding to 60 billion litres at the end of the five-year period to 2012. The program could be fully or partly subsidised from the state governments' stamp duty tax on property sales, with the vendor getting a rebate to cover 50 per cent of the cost of replacing the toilet when a house is sold. The major problem is in existing properties, and the introduction of legislation that requires vendors of properties to install water-efficient toilets and shower heads before the property can be sold is required urgently as part of the national water strategy. Homes with water-saving designs and environmental features such as rainwater tanks will become more valuable as they will reduce water costs for owners. Governments are encouraging the installation of toilets by rebates, but the program is not robust enough and needs legislation to drive a targeted result to get the desired water-saving outcomes. Domestic consumers use slightly more than half of all the urban water supplied, and about 60 per cent of that consumption is used indoors. The current increase in domestic use of 2.8 per cent a year is also about twice the rate at which new households are being formed. Fourteen per cent of our domestic drinking water is used to flush the toilet. In the average household this is 40,000 litres annually enough to fill an average swimming pool. A family of four switching from an old single flush toilet to a new dual flush could save on average 40,000 litres a year.The replacement of water-wasting toilets commences water savings immediately without having to wait for rain.Ray Herbert is executive director of the Master Plumbers & Mechanical Services Association of Australia.
© 2007 Newcastle Herald