Automatic flush toilets are installed in many buildings throughout our city. These fixtures are typically equipped with two methods of flush control: a laser motion sensor triggered by movement within a certain range, and a secondary manual control, similar to all non-automatic toilets. There is an option to disable the automatic sensor such that the manual control is the only method of flushing. When active, these toilets waste an immeasurable amount of water. Why are they still activated in our city at this time of severe water deficit and restriction?
The RBC Center is equipped with such fixtures. I don’t know what grade of fixtures are installed, but the best case scenario would be an ultra-low volume toilet which uses 1.6 gallons per flush. A typical toilet uses about 3-4 gallons per flush. The toilet fixtures at the RBC Center use 3.5 gallons per flush. The average attendance of Carolina Hurricanes games is about 17,000 people. Let’s assume that each person uses the toilet one time during a three hour contest. With the active automatic flush sensors, that’s about 50,000 gallons of water per week, assuming the best case scenario. If these are average volume fixtures, that comes out to almost 200,000 gallons per week during the NHL season, not to mention any other RBC Center events.
This is only one of many buildings in our city that utilize these laser-sensor toilets. How much water are we wasting?
It is a very simple procedure to turn off each of these sensors, so that the user has to activate the manual flush mechanism, just like ever other toilet. The city should implement this into Stage 2 Water Restrictions immediately.
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