Toilet Humor: Dave Barry Should Go With The Flow

A RECENT column by syndicated humor writer Dave Barry complained about water-efficient (low-flow) toilets and urged readers to support federal legislation to repeal federal toilet requirements. While we appreciate his humor, we need to point out that many water-efficient toilets do work well, and, collectively, they can save ratepayers millions of dollars by reducing the need for future water and wastewater facilities - helping to keep their water and sewer rates lower while protecting the environment.

Since Congress passed the Energy Policy and Conservation Act in 1992, millions of new water-efficient toilets have been installed. Like most products, there is a wide variety of toilets being manufactured. Some of the inexpensive toilets on the market don't perform well, and typically these are the source of consumer complaints. Consumer Reports, for example, tested and ranked a number of new toilet models and found some good and some bad performers, even among models by the same manufacturer.

One problem for consumers is the fact that toilet manufacturers have resisted rigorous national testing and performance standards, preferring the casual system of private self-certification by independent labs. As a result, even the major manufacturers have multiple toilet models with different performance characteristics, and many new homeowners are surprised to find that all toilets are not created equal.

Seattle Public Utilities supplies water to 1.25 million people in King and Snohomish Counties. Why do we care what kind of toilets they use? Flushing toilets are the largest single indoor use of drinking water in most homes and many businesses. Since most toilets are flushed with drinking quality water, it is in the best long-term public interest to encourage resource efficiency. When homeowners install water-efficient toilets, we estimate they conserve at least 10,000 gallons a year and save, on average, from $26 per year for a one-person household to $155 per year for a six-person household.

Many public utilities across the nation, including Seattle Public Utilities, have toilet changeout programs and want to retain current federal standards. Since we started our commercial toilet rebate program in 1994, local businesses have retrofitted over 9,000 toilets, saving about 1 million gallons of water per day.

As part of the rebate program, we survey participants. Over 80 percent of them have reported satisfaction with the performance of their new toilet, when compared with their old toilet. For those who aren't satisfied, we would encourage them to shop as carefully for a new toilet as they do for any consumer item, looking at quality as well as price.

Every day, Puget Sound residents show their respect for the precious resources of our region in many ways. They conserve water, recycle, compost, and protect our urban streams better than just about any place in the country. This often means changing old behaviors and trying new technologies.

Dave Barry's criticisms may have been funny, but they weren't necessarily in the best public interest, so thanks for letting us flush out the truth about water-efficient toilets.

Diana Gale is director of Seattle Public Utilities.