Low-Flush Toilets

Our government MessAPolitico passed the Energy Policy Act, and in 1992, it was signed into law by President George H. W. Bush.  This law specified that new toilets must not require more than 1.6 gallons of water per flush, whereas the normal flush toilets had required around 3.5 gallons per flush. 

I remember seeing Hollywood celebrities like Tom Cruise running around talking about how we need to waste less water.  Of course, the Hollywood types generally live out in the western U.S. where water is in short supply.  If there is a drought for a little while in California, Arizona, New Mexico, or Nevada, their rivers and streams start to dry up.  The big cities out there are filling with millions of folks moving out for better weather and sunny Pacific coast beaches.  They need more and more water, but the climate is quite arid.

The question is this:  why does the eastern 2/3 of America need to ration water?  In the areas where I have lived my entire life from Mississippi to Missouri to the Ohio River Valley, drought will cause your lawn and the crops to dry up, but there is always water coming from the faucet.  The Ohio, Tennessee, Mississippi, or Missouri Rivers may drop in times of low rainfall, but there is always plenty of water at the intakes to the water treatment plants.

You might ask why are low-flush toilets such a bad thing.  What is so bad about saving water?  My answer is that these "dribbling" toilets don't get enough water flowing to get the job done.  If I save 1.9 gallons of water per flush, but I need to flush three times, how did I save any water?  (How's that for answering a question with a question?)

There's another thing I heard about low-flush toilets, and I don't know for sure that it is true.  A while ago a plumber called into a radio talk show and said that the plumbing in most U.S. homes wasn't designed or installed for such a low amount of water flow.  He said that the piping has a gradual slope from the toilets and sinks and tubs in the home to the sewers under the streets.  With the low-flush toilets, there isn't enough flow generated to push the solids all the way to the main sewer system.  This results in a build up of these solids in the system that can lead to clogs and plumbing problems.  According to him, the sewer system needs more slope to work with the limited water flow.

Once again, the MessAPolitico tells folks how to run their business and design their products.  Their intentions are good, but the results aren't that great.  Some areas of the country have a limited supply of water, so the entire country needs to change how things are done.  Wouldn't the shortage of water in the west lead to very high water rates out there?  And, wouldn't the high water rates encourage the folks out west to use less water?  Maybe they would buy a low-flush toilet.  Maybe they would decide not to flush after number one.  Maybe they would install a low-flush toilet in one bathroom and only use that for number one.  Maybe the high water rates would discourage more people from moving to an area with limited water supply.  You know, those free-market solutions work so much better than the government regulations that are shoved down our throats every day.

The MessAPolitico keeps pushing Americans.  They keep telling us what we can and can't do.  Laws are passed to take away our free will to do anything they've deemed bad for us.  Please vote in the upcoming primaries to end the "nanny state."  They can't run our country, and I don't want them running my life.  I can't stand any more of their improvements.