Nine billion gallons of raw sewage and stormwater enter Pittsburgh’s famous three rivers — the Ohio, the Monongahela and the Allegheny — every year.
To combat this issue, the City approved $300 million of an expected $2 billion project to overhaul of the current sewer system in May — it’s estimated to reduce the amount of wastewater entering Pittsburgh rivers by 30 percent. But there’s an additional project that could be launched that’s cheap, easy and would have long-term effects on the amount of wastewater citizens produce in the first place — installing waterless urinals.
This action is something that should be promoted citywide, and Pitt is the perfect candidate to pioneer such a project. As part of its sustainability plan, the University wants to reduce water and energy consumption on campus by 50 percent — implementing waterless urinals is the perfect way to achieve both goals.
