WhatFinger


The Low-Flush Toilet Mandate, Clogged Sewers

To Flush or Not to Flush



To flush or not to flush, that’s the question. Municipal sewer system operators are finding that they have to compensate for the ‘green’ low flush toilets. Who would have thought that?

The Low-Flush Toilet Mandate

In the US, the low-flush toilet came about in 1994 with a federal mandate that restricted toilets to 1.6 gallons per flush, less than half the amount conventional models previously used. It definitely reduced the consumption of water. What the low-flush toilet mandate did not consider was the fact that a certain amount of steady flow is required to keep things moving along in the sewers. Now, the problems mount – literally. Communities in flat areas with extensive sewer lines of minimal slope are finding that there is settling occurring within the sewer system. If not mitigated, the system will suffer “clogged arteries.”

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Solution to Clogged Sewers

There is a simple solution to clogged sewers; it’s called flushing. It uses water, lots of it. Except that water is no longer provided by your own toilet flush, it’s now provided in regular intervals by your community’s sewer system operator. To make matters worse, once settled, a much more forceful water stream is required to re-suspend the matter. Of course, the water does not care where or by whom it is being used; nor does the municipality. Its cost of water is the same. So, while you may be feeling good about your low-flush toilet, in the end, it could require the use of more water than the older type before you became environmentally conscious. Perhaps you ought to keep flushing.


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Dr. Klaus L.E. Kaiser -- Bio and Archives

Dr. Klaus L.E. Kaiser is author of CONVENIENT MYTHS, the green revolution – perceptions, politics, and facts Convenient Myths


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