It may be the 21st century, but not all U.S. technology is roaring uphill. Take toilets. Americans across the political spectrum have begun to notice that toilets at the millennium have a remarkably hard time doing what they're supposed to do -- flush properly. This used to be one of the most reliable things in life. What happened?
A 1992 federal law, passed without hearings as part of a back-room deal between environmentalists and toilet makers, mandated that every new toilet use only 1.6 gallons a flush, unlike the old tanks, which consumed 3.5 gallons. The law took effect in 1994 for homes and in 1998 for business properties.
The new, low-gal toilets often end up clogging and overflowing because they don't produce enough momentum to get the job done on the first try. Rather than conserve water, as many people are well aware, some new toilets actually end up using more water through repeat flushes. Thus, some offices and home bathrooms have taken on the odor of the ancient privy. A 1998 survey by the National Association of Homebuilders found that 72% of their members believe the new toilets are a problem.
Relax, say the environmentalists. They claim toilet models now coming on the market work better and that the need for conservation is great given that toilets can consume 30% of the water used in an average household. Emmanuel A. Kampouris, the former chairman and CEO of plumbing giant American Standard, takes issue. He says that while his company now makes a new toilet model getting positive reviews, the regulations are burdensome and unnecessary no matter what manufacturers say publicly.
The Mr. Clean in this sordid tale is Rep. Joe Knollenberg, a Michigan Republican. He's sponsored a bill (H.R. 859) that would create choice for toilets. It would end the fine for manufacturing a forbidden toilet as well as the local enforcement that blocks new homes and remodeled bathrooms from passing inspection if they have 3.5 gallon toilets. This same 1992 bill also restricts the flow rate of new shower heads to 2.5 gallons per minute.
All this toilet totalitarianism has created a black market for 3.5 gallon units. Dissidents troll junkyards looking for old models. A plumbing supply store owner says he will sell the big toilets, "but you have to tell me you're taking it out of the country."
There's always Canada, land of restriction-free toileting. Veteran Plumbing in Windsor, Ontario, just across from Detroit, is doing brisk business in 3.5 gallon toilets (duty-free, incidentally under the Nafta trade pact). Mark Hoying of the U.S. Customs Service told the Detroit News he sees many shoppers with packaged toilets in their back seats.
The biggest obstacle to Rep. Knollenberg's bill is domestic toilet manufacturers. They cut the deal with environmental groups in 1992 because 17 states had already imposed the 1.6 gallon requirement and they preferred a uniform national standard. "Those states may have had reason to conserve water back then," Rep. Knollenberg says. "That's no reason to impose a one-size-fits-all toilet on the entire country."
Several toilet makers funded a test study that concluded that more than 90% of 250 consumers were satisfied with the performance of the 1.6 gallon toilets. But the American Society of Plumbing Engineers isn't so sure. "That study doesn't say the 1.6 toilets actually work," says executive director Stan Wolfson. "All it shows is that they conserve water when flushed. No one has done a real study on this issue."
The closest thing to an independent view of the controversy comes from Bob Bellini, vice president of Varsity Plumbing in Flushing, N.Y. Contractor magazine noted that he has run comprehensive tests for six months on more than 150 makes of 1.6 gallon toilets. The good news, he reports, is, "We're comfortable with five toilets on the market right now. So there are actually 1.6 toilets out there that work." The bad news is that 145 models weren't up to Mr. Bellini's standards.
Environmentalists vow to fight Rep. Knollenberg's bill. "This is a superficial issue that appeals to those who mistrust government and are hostile to a federal role in environmental protection or public health issues," said Ed Osann, a lobbyist for the Natural Resources Defense Council.
Still, 14 Democrats, including Reps. James Barcia of Michigan and Ed Pastor of Arizona, have co-sponsored the bill. Daniel Waitzman, a self-described "old-fashioned liberal," says his New York City co-op building installed restricted-flush toilets in 1995 and "we have been miserable ever since." "The government," Mr. Waitzman says, "has no place in our bathrooms."
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