The California State Legislature approved AB 2496, water conservation legislation authored by Assemblymember John Laird (D-Santa Cruz) that would set new water flush volume standards by making use of existing high-efficiency toilet technology. All new homes, schools, office buildings and other construction would be required to utilize high-efficiency toilets. The legislation enjoys broad support from water conservation groups, plumbers, environmentalists and toilet manufacturers. The bill, sponsored by the California State Pipe Trades Council, now heads to the governor for his signature.
“As California continues to grow, we need stronger water conservation measures in place,” said Assemblymember Laird in a written statement. “Upgrading flush volume standards and making use of existing toilet technologies will save billions of gallons of water and make California a national leader in water conservation. High-quality, high-efficiency models are already on the market, and this legislation will help make them the standard.”
The average Californian uses an estimated 70 to 80 gallons of water a day indoors, with toilets accounting for approximately one-third of water use – more than any other indoor source. The new standards are expected to save California 200 million gallons of water in the first year alone, enough water to fill 300 Olympic-sized swimming pools. By the tenth year the new standards will be in place, the state is expected to save over 8 billion gallons of water per year-more than the total amount of bottled water that Americans consumed in 2005.
Because water is pumped over hundreds of miles in California, treated, pressurized, flushed and eventually pumped to the ocean, there are also significant energy savings that will result from implementation of the bill.
AB 2496 would lower the regular toilet standard to 1.3 gallons per flush, and would establish standards for dual flush toilets, a new kind of toilet that is very common in Europe, which would use the current standard of 1.6 gallons per flush for solids and 1.1 for liquids.
The bill also resolves a long-standing dispute between the California Pipe Trades Council and Falcon WaterFree Technologies, manufacturer of waterless urinals. The legislation requests the state Building Standards Commission to consider including waterless urinals in the Plumbing Code, subject to certain conditions.
The new standards would be phased in beginning in 2009.
