INTERIORS 57 Flushed with savings success
Increased awareness of water scarcity has prompted innovations in rainwater capture and a rethinking of toilet fl ush design. Delabie UK’s Eve Wellard looks at alternatives to cistern fl ush WCs which prevent unnecessary waste of potable water
W
e are all aware that water is our most precious resource, as we witness our rivers and waterways become increasingly polluted in the UK. Unpredictable events can suddenly restrict available drinking water, as seen in May 2024 in Surrey when hundreds of homes were issued a ‘do not drink’ notice by Thames Water after excessive levels of hydrocarbons were detected, or up to 16,000 homes in Devon that were recently affected by an outbreak of the parasite cryptosporidium. Research by Water UK found that “42% of UK adults are worried about parts of the UK running out of water in the next 25 years.” This isn’t at all surprising when we learn that the average person in the UK uses 142 litres of water a day, and a family of four could use up to 500 litres. Vast quantities of drinking water, which must fi rst be chemically treated and processed, are wasted each day through our toilet fl ushes. A standard cistern toilet releases up to 12 litres of water with each fl ush, and leaks are also a huge problem. Cisterns contain small plastic components that are vulnerable to rust and scale build up, quickly compromising the internal mechanism. According to Thames Water, a small cistern leak causing the toilet bowl water to ripple wastes on average 600 litres of water per day, at a cost of around £483.99 per year.
In public and commercial buildings with high footfall, the potential for unreported leaks is extremely elevated. Five leaking toilets in a cinema for example, will waste up to one million litres of drinking water over the course of a year.
One solution to the problem of leaking toilets wasting valuable potable water is a direct fl ush system. Cisternless WC options use just 3 or 6 litres of water per fl ush, compared with the 12 litre fl ush of a cistern-fed toilet. The fl ush volume can be reduced even further if desired, to 2 or 4
ADF JULY/AUGUST 2024
litres, and the system connects directly to the supply pipe, minimising the potential for leaks.
Another advantage is that this system is compatible with grey water (rainwater, but also water from showers, baths, and sinks). Treating and supplying drinking water requires substantial energy and resources; using cisternless fl ush technology with grey water instead decreases the energy and chemicals required for water treatment,
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Installation of cisternless direct fl ush with electronic control plate © DELABIE
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