Dr. M.K.Chattopadhyay
Flushing the toilet
“Please flush before and after use”- this is the instruction we are habituated to come across while using a public toilet. People, who do not care to flush the toilet after use, are considered guys lacking civic sense. But are we aware of the impact of the flush system on the environment?
Water scarcity in the water-planet
Photographed from the space, the earth appears to be a water-planet in some of the pictures. The total volume of water in this planet is approximately 1386, 000,000 cubic kilometers. However, 97.5% of this water is present in salty oceans and therefore not usable for us. Out of the remaining 2.5% fresh water, only 0.3% is easily available for human use. Safe drinking water for every citizen remains an elusive dream to a large number of Indians since only 21.4% households in India have piped drinking water connections according to a survey conducted a couple of years back Quality of the drinking water is also not ensured in many cases. According to a report published by the World Health Organization, 842,000 deaths per year all over the world are attributable to a lack of safe drinking water supply, sanitation and hygiene.
The wasteful flush system
The toilet flush systems that we are habituated to use every day, appear to be a wasteful luxury in this backdrop. Low-flow models of flush systems use 1.6 gallons of water per flush. Assuming a person on average uses the toilet 5 times a day, it turns up that a total of 8 gallons of water is required every day for a person for flushing the toilet. In a family consisting of 4 persons, 32 gallons of water is used per day only for cleaning the excreta. According to the standard set by the U.S. National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, an adequate daily fluid intake should be 3.7 liters (roughly a gallon) for men. So it appears that the family uses drinking water for 32 persons in the toilet flush over a period of 24 hours (www.quora.com/How-serious-of-a-problem-is-wasting-water-through-flushing-toilets).Needless to say, the mind-boggling analysis provides an eye-opener that fills our mind with a sense of guilt. It reveals how we are wasting drinking water that is prepared from natural water involving a number of costly operations and huge manpower.
Remedial measures suggested Right-thinking people across the globe have raised concern about the wasteful nature of the flush systems. Some people have recommended installation of two types of pipelines in every house by the municipalities-one pipeline will supply clean water for drinking and cooking and the other line will supply untreated water for gardens and toilets. Some others have suggested reduction of the volume of the flush tank by filling it partially with pebbles. Proper maintenance of the flush system, preventing wastage of water through leakage, appears to be a very rational approach. The dual flush system is a device which uses two buttons to deliver different amounts of water-lesser amount for liquid waste and larger amount for solid waste. Interested readers are referred to a detailed discussion on this issue (9 Tips to Reduce Your Toilet Water Usage) by C.E Larusso www.google.com).
Concluding remarks
The issue of wastage of water in our toilet flush,appears to be related to the problem of wastage of water by the Indians as a whole. We have to appreciate that water is an asset and like many other assets, we have to use it judiciously.Unfortunately, even educated and enlightened people in this country, appear to be blissfully unaware of the looming crisis that we are going to incur in the not so distant future by extravagant use of water. The administration lacks the resolve to adopt a uniform policy to restrict the use of water. While women have to walk a long distance to fetch the minimum amount of drinking water for them and other members of the family in some remote villages, urban people are allowed to install unlimited number of bore-well pumps to satisfy their day to day requirements. In a country, where 35 million people lack access to safe water, the popularity of wasteful water sports is on the rise and film-stars make no secret of wasting gallons of water in celebration of the Holi festival.We have to realize that the present trend of extravagant use of water is short-lived since it depends upon a natural resource which is dwindling day by day. The nemesis awaits us.