Water conservation movement gaining greater foothold

BY JACQUELINE BURTON

Special to The Wholesaler

All over the world, there is increasing demand for fresh water -- and in so many places water is the new gold. In light of the ever-upward rate of water consumption, decision makers must either find more water sources or reduce the demand on existing water supplies.  There is no question as to which path will--must--be taken. 

Lingering droughts have brought the supply issue to the forefront in areas once thought to have an inexhaustible supply of water. Atlanta, Raleigh, Miami and Birmingham are among the major Southern cities pondering the dilemma like never before.

The city of Miami is acting with considerable urgency, having just passed an ordinance on February 5, that rewrites building codes, calling for the most up-to-the-minute water-efficient products available. The ordinance -- which identifies low-flow showerheads, faucets and high-efficiency toilets (HETs), as well as appliances -- effects all installations starting July 1, giving dealers very little time to stock inventories.  

Out West, an area more often associated with tight water supplies, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger signed legislation ab715 last October in an effort to keep badly needed water from going down the drain. The law makes California the first state in the nation to mandate hets and is expected to save about 8 billion gallons of water annually.  Phase-in is at a slower pace than in Miami. The ruling takes effect January 2010 and requires that 100% of all toilets installed or sold by January 2014 be hets. The new law specifically mentions dual flush toilets -- the first statewide legislation to note this particular water saving technology.

In the meantime, builders see the writing on the wall. Whether constructing a custom home, multi-house development or high-rise condominium, the homebuilder and construction industry now know their communities not only need water-efficient products but also want them. Consumers today are a powerful market force, as they have become more mindful of their own responsibility for the earth’s resources and are willing to make behavioral changes. In some areas, local water authorities are upping the cost per gallon, no doubt adding new relevance to the conservation mindset. 

Today’s builders recognize that going “green” can lead to reduced household operating costs that appeals to both homeowners or the building management. That, in turn, gives their construction project a selling edge. It is estimated that buildings account for one-sixth of the world’s fresh water withdrawals.  

One measure of the building industry’s readiness to put conservation into play occurred at this year’s International Builders Show in Orlando. The IBS staged more than two dozen green-themed education events at the show, which proved to be among the most popular, judging from early registration. The National Association of Home Builders also launched their Certified Green Professional educational designation that will likely fuel the sustainable movement.   

The wholesale side of the business is going to see demand coming from all sides. The EPA is another force at work helping wholesalers, installers, builders and consumers identify high-performing water-efficient products. Last year, the EPA launched its WaterSense program, and initiated awarding the label to toilets meeting certain efficiency and performance standards. This year, faucets were added to the effort. The WaterSense program is designed to protect the water supply by promoting water-efficient products and services. It is expected to encourage water conservation behaviors on the part of consumers.  The marketplace needs assurance that the products they are purchasing are in fact delivery water savings. The WaterSense label is a positive step to ensure good market response to water efficient plumbing products. On the manufacturer side, WaterSense is expected to provide additional impetus to manufacturers to create ever more efficient product.

As for actual conservation measures, one only has to look down -- Down Under -- to take a look at the massive change water efficient plumbing has wrought in Australia. Australia is the driest inhabited content on earth. Periodic drought has caused critical water shortages and authorities there are compelled to restrict water usage in homes. 

Against this backdrop, Caroma -- Australia’s largest sanitary ware manufacturer -- developed the technology to reduce water usage in one of the biggest water wasters in the home, the toilet. In 1980, with an Australian government grant, Caroma’s two-button dual flush toilets were tested in a small South Australian town. The trial resulted in an average annual saving of 8,547 gallons of water per household. With such dramatic results, this led to the mandatory introduction of dual flush toilets across most of the country, in cities big and small. 

Brisbane, a city of approximately 1 million inhabitants, first mandated the use of dual flush toilets more than 15 years ago, in 1990. Following further development of the Caroma technology, installation of the 0.8/1.6 dual flush toilet was mandated in 1993. The dual flush toilet has been widely credited by Australian authorities as an essential part of the continent’s water conservation efforts.

Dual flush fixtures have been nationally mandated for over 10 years, as well as in countries elsewhere. The technology has gone on to be adopted by other sanitary ware manufacturers around the globe as the most significant means to reduce toilet water usage. 

“With the emergence of other manufacturers offering their own versions, it certainly shows that the market is embracing the dual flush technology,” said Derek Kirkpatrick, manager at  Caroma USA.

Here in America, one-third of domestic water consumption is through toilet use. With nearly 100 million high-consumption (over 1.6 gpf) toilets in use in the U.S. alone, it is estimated that the introduction of HETs will save up to 900 billions gallons of water each year.   All dual flush toilets qualify as HETs, though the Caroma models all feature the 0.8/1.6 flush volumes, currently the industry benchmark.

During the early 1990s, ultra low flush toilets (ulft) were mandated in the U.S. with poor results. Unable to produce flushing efficiency while saving water, most models failed to produce effective results. Though well intended, that attempt at conservation gave a rocky start to water efficiency efforts.  Granted, conservation has been a topic for a long time, though it now seems that enough forces are at work -- some uncontrollable acts of nature, others technological goals -- that water conservation is surging full steam ahead.

For additional information, visit www.caromausa.com.