Posted on 09/07/2006 11:47:53 AM PDT by calcowgirl
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has until the end of the month to decide on legislation aimed at further conserving water.
SACRAMENTO — Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger will soon decide if he wants to save millions of gallons of water annually by using even lower-flush home and public toilets, and a new military favorite that's reminiscent of portable potties — waterless, no-flush urinals in public buildings.
Legislation — which involved an 11th-hour deal between labor and manufacturers to clear the way for nonwater urinals — slipped around the public spotlight during lawmakers' end-of-session rush.
Even so, the measure praised as "making California a national leader" in yet another area, drew a few chuckles from lawmakers and bystanders who are already coping with low-flush toilets and were trying to imagine waterless urinals.
A Schwarzenegger spokeswoman said Wednesday: "The governor has not taken a position on the bill." He has until the end of the month to do so.
AB 2496, by Assemblyman John Laird, D-Santa Cruz, is aimed at further conserving water in California by reducing average toilet flushes in homes, schools, office buildings and other structures from 1.6 gallons to 1.3 gallons.
Under the bill, co-authored by Democratic Assembly members Loni Hancock of Berkeley and Gene Mullin of San Mateo, urinal flushes would have to be cut back from a gallon to a half-gallon.
Various state regulatory agencies would phase-in the new rules for bathroom and restroom equipment installed beginning Jan. 1, 2009. California is now operating under flushstandards adopted in 1992.
"Upgrading flush-volume standards will save billions of gallons of water and make California a national leader in water conservation," Laird said.
Since toilets account for a third of indoor water use daily by Californians, the bill would save about 200 million gallons the first year alone — enough to fill 300 Olympic-sized swimming pools.
By the 10th year, savings would amount to more than 8 billion gallons annually. That's more than the total amount of bottled water Americans consumed last year.
Through 11th-hour amendments, the bill also "resolved a long-standing dispute between the California Pipe Trades Council and Falcon WaterFree Technologies, a manufacturer of waterless urinals," said Laird.
The measure requires the state Building Standards Commission to ponder how to include the non-water urinals in the state's plumbing codes.
Falcon representatives say waterless urinals are better than the old flush models, where the combination of urine and water causes the smell of ammonia oxide.
The Falcon fixture is nonporous so it "funnels virtually every drop of urine" down through a biodegradable liquid sealant layer in a cartridge and down the drain, the company says. The cartridge liquid is lighter than urine so it blocks smell.
The military, in particular, has embraced the new technology.
The Army Times reported last month that "waterless urinals are the wave of the future, and in the Defense Department, the Army is leading the way."
The U.S. Senate Appropriations Committee, noting the Army's use of the urinals, has ordered the Defense Department to submit a report on how the military can more widely follow suit.
Will they have an exception for the Madonna Inn?
Even Pompeii had flush toilets of a sort...
Way to go, Arnold. Just pile on those regulations. The more the better. Don't stop until the California voters shout "Uncle."
Low-flush toilets suck: the don't work half the time.
A shift to waterless urinals (as used, for instance at the Alpine Visitor's Center in Rocky Mountain National Park) would be sensible since Californians insist on overpopulating a costal desert.
I had to look that one up.
http://www.urinal.net/madonna/
(What kind of whackjob sets up a website about urinals!) ROFL!
I'm glad that they've got the budget all balanced up there in Sacto such that this is all they have to concern themselves with.
I'm not a man but I don't think the urinal is the same as a toilet...at least in what its intended purpose is. This might not be too bad. But I'll let those who actually use the urinals rule on this one.
I'll pass on this one.
I agree.
When will someone invent a "Two Speed Toilet"? The type that would have two flush settings?
One setting for solids.... a lower setting for liquid.
Yes, in California there are even regulations limiting stool weight and volume per bowel movement.
Pew.
Have to save enough water to fill those Hollywood liberal's swimming pools.
Pretty soon, they'll make urination illegal.
THey had those damn things at the my last gig -- the restrooms ALWAYS smell like urine.
Interesting. I never thought of that idea. For me, I don't mind a large flush for any toilet contents, but I guess if you are a hardcore environmentalist, the two level flusher would be good.
That's why you have to flush twice.
A waterless urinal--isn't that what they already have in San Francisco, AKA 'peeing against the wall'?
So make sure you get a recipt (/Hitchhiker's Guide)
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