The Gamechanger Has Arrived – Now, What Are We Going to Do About It?

Once again, California and many other western states are experiencing severe drought conditions. This is becoming a broken record, as it seems to be happening every year.  Some measures are taken each year to address the situation; we all cut back 15 percent or more, and then once winter comes, we go back to our old water-using habits. In California and most of the west, it is during the winter months that the most rain falls.

But this year is different. Not only are drought conditions building, but the western half of the country is also experiencing scorching weather, hotter than ever before. This is climate change. Whether man’s behavior causes it or not is no longer an issue. It’s here, and we must deal with it.

This means we are now in a true gamechanger, and to help us get through this challenging period, we must think big about water savings, reducing water consumption, and using water more efficiently. Before going further, let’s look at where things are now with regard to water in California, our most populous state:

• More than 85 percent of California is in extreme or exceptional drought, two of the highest drought classifications.

• Marin County, north of San Francisco, has declared a state of emergency.

• Sonoma County, just north of Marin, is on the verge of doing the same.

• While most of the state’s residents are being asked to reduce water consumption, mandatory water restrictions are now being considered.

• The state’s more than 1,500 reservoirs are 50 percent lower than average.

We could list more challenges, but the bottom line is that California and much of the west are facing a parched summer, and we—each and every one of us—must do something about it. These are some of the actions we can take:

Think Big

Daniel Burnham, credited as being the city planner of Chicago back in the 1800s, said, “make no small plans. They have no magic to stir men’s blood and probably will not themselves be realized.” As individuals and as a society, we must think big about reducing water consumption so that we can “stir men’s blood” and make it happen. 

Charge More

As we have mentioned before in other posts, water charges in most areas of the country have rarely matched how much it costs to treat, deliver, and remove water. Instead, water charges have been kept artificially low. That must change now, and one reason for this is our next point.

Repair Infrastructure

Charging more will help pay for much needed water infrastructure. Water infrastructure in the U.S. has been ignored for decades. Yes, there have been some improvements here and there, but large sections of the entire system must be updated and/or replaced in many cities. There are about 240,000 water breaks annually in America. When it happens, a single break wastes thousands of gallons of water. 

But here is something more we should know. The repair bill for those 240,000 water breaks is now approaching $1 trillion annually. 

This means that if we invested the estimated three trillion dollars we need to fix water infrastructure, we would be saving money in the long run, along with thousands of gallons of water.

Grey Water

In California and other states, treated wastewater can be used for irrigation. We need to find even more and better uses for grey water. When treated, it can be used for various purposes except for human consumption.

Go Waterless

Finally, we need to find ways not just to cut water consumption but to eliminate it altogether. One that has proven highly successful is the installation of no-water urinals. You’ve probably heard this before, but since we are thinking big and trying to “stir men’s blood” about reducing water consumption, if just one waterless urinal saves 35,000 gallons of water per year, consider how much water would be saved if thousands of waterless urinals are installed.

Getting Rid of the Need to Go Barriers

Restaurants anxious to get their doors open and operating – safely – may be interested in an article published in the Washington Post in May 2020.  

That article, "The need to go is a big barrier to going out. Why public bathrooms are a stumbling block for reopening," suggests that one of the main reasons people are concerned about going out to restaurants, even in a post-COVID world, is because of their restrooms.

According to the author, Marc Fisher:

The idea of a return to life in public is unnerving for many people. But it turns out that one of the biggest obstacles to dining in a restaurant is the prospect of using a public restroom—a tight, intimate, and potentially germ-infested space.

If this is the case, what can restaurant owners do to turn things around so that patrons are comfortable using their restrooms?  Here are some things we at Waterless Co., Inc, recommend:

Install Toilet Lids

Toilet lids were removed in public restrooms decades ago. It helped reduce the cost of the toilet and provided one less thing that needed to be cleaned. However, toilet lids serve an essential purpose. They block aerosolized contaminants from being released into the air when the toilet is flushed. This is called "plume" and is even more critical now because traces of COVID have been found in human waste. 

While there are plans to develop toilets that will not flush until the lid is in the down position, if possible, the fastest and easiest way to handle this situation is to install lids on toilets. That should block the plume from being released.

Install Waterless Urinals 

Urinals also have plume issues. Plus, urinals typically have no enclosures or are in a stall such as a toilet. This means that if contaminants become airborne, they can easily be inhaled by anyone standing nearby and land just about anywhere in the restroom.  Most observers now feel we have two options to prevent urinal plume:

1. Enclose urinals into separate stalls, like toilets, or install floor-to-ceiling partitions.

2. Change to waterless urinals. Because there is no flushing, plume is not an issue with waterless urinals.

Waterless urinals also help promote sustainability and tend to be less costly to purchase and install than traditional water-using urinals. 

Paper

Studies have found that some people are washing their hands as much as 16 times per day. This pattern developed during the pandemic and appears to be continuing.  After washing their hands, most patrons prefer to use paper towels to dry them. While purchasing large amounts of paper towels can be costly, installing electric hand dryers - at this time - may not be a wise idea in restaurants.

Touchless…. Everything

There should be no need to touch any fixtures or dispensers in restaurant restrooms. Further, if possible, restrooms should be designed with doorless entries. It is just one less thing patrons must touch.

Antimicrobial coatings

Restaurant owners should also consider applying antimicrobial coatings to their restrooms. These are not new but are getting a much closer look due to the pandemic. Antimicrobial coatings can be applied to counters, walls, partitions, doors and door handle, and other high-touch areas, even HVAC vents. Some paint manufacturers are now adding them to wall paint and primer products. They inhibit the growth of pathogens on walls and are one more way restaurant owners can make their restrooms healthier and safer for patrons going forward.

* "The need to go is a big barrier to going out: why public bathrooms are a stumbling block for reopening," by Marc Fisher, Washington Post, May 18, 2020.

Unintended Benefits of Urine and Waterless Urinals

For centuries, scientists and engineers gave little thought to using urine for just about anything. 

It was flushed down toilets and urinals, and that’s the end of it.

However, as waterless urinals have become much more popular and used in more places worldwide, surprise, we are finding more uses for urine, uses we never thought of before.

But before we go on, we need to mention one thing: these benefits are essentially eliminated when the urine is mixed with water. That’s what makes the urine that can be collected in waterless urinals so important. While it may come from different sources, this is pure urine. No water has been mixed into it to dilute the contents.

So how is urine used today? 

Here are some surprising uses:

·       In Japan, they are building horse barns designed by Keio University. They convert the urine of the animals in the barn into heat. Right now, these are small barns, only made for four animals. But the scientists point out two things: along with creating heat, the urine is used to produce organic plant fertilizer. Further, they state that the technology is in its infancy. In time, larger barns housing far more animals will be heated with urine.

·       Now you can grab a urine-made stool. The “Dupe Stool” is a very sturdy stool created in the U.K. It’s made from bacteria, sand, and urine. What’s more, in time, it can be broken up and used for fertilizer. This means nothing ever goes to waste.

·       If in China, eat like the Chinese do. In parts of China, they make a delicacy called “virgin eggs.” They take the urine of young boys, preferably under the age of 10, and use it to boil chicken eggs. They say it has magical nutritional and fertility qualities and improves the immune system. Whether it does or does not, in some parts of China, they love eating virgin eggs.

·       If you see someone with yellow teeth, it may have nothing to do about their lack of brushing or cleaning their teeth. In China, once again, a research team has developed a way to grow a tooth-like structure using stem cells harvested in urine and other organic materials. While the process does not necessarily impact the color of the teeth, in some cases, they do have a bit of a yellow tint after harvesting.

·       We rarely think about it here, but in many parts of the world, such as Africa and South America, cell phone users may find recharging their phones exceedingly tricky. The problem is that outlets are hard to find, and many times once they are discovered, there’s no “juice” in the outlet. A team of scientists at Bristol Robotics Laboratory in the U.K. has come up with a solution. They have developed a device that processes six hours of power from one liter of urine. Even better, the system is relatively easy to make, so they are marketing it as a DIY – Do It Yourself –project that can be made by just about anyone anywhere in the world if they have urine collected nearby.

It’s likely no one ever thought about these benefits when Waterless Co introduced the waterless urinal thirty years ago. In those days, the key concerns were reducing water consumption and reducing facility operating costs.

Now, waterless urinals are helping to create an array of new products and technologies.  It wasn’t in the cards thirty years ago, but given time, we at Waterless Co believe several new products and technologies will be produced as a result of waterless urinals.

Water conservation never gets old

A new name has been coined for the prolonged drought condition in the Colorado River Basin: Mega drought. Water conservation in the home and business can be part of the solution.

Here are some basic water conservation practices worthy of remembering as we navigate through prolific drought.

General rules of thumb to improve efficiency and reduce waste in the home include:

• Leak detection and repair: Even small leaks can add up to significant water loss. Look for and repair leaks frequently.

• Replace or retrofit appliances and fixtures: Install high efficiency plumbing fixtures and appliances. A large percentage of water is flushed down the toilet. Retrofit to code, 1.6 gallon toilets, or install ultra-low flow or dual flush units. Only run clothes and dishwashers when full. Install on-demand hot water heaters or hot water circulating pumps.

To read more from this article on Steamboatpilot.com, click here.

Taiwan, Microchips, and Water

As many of us know, one of the reasons several items, from cars and cell phones to toasters, are in short supply right now is because there is a worldwide microchip shortage. Yes, many of today’s toasters use microchips, as do scores of other household appliances. Most of these microchips come from Taiwan.

However, what many of us do not know is that one of the key reasons for this worldwide chip shortage is water, or shall we say, lack thereof. A severe drought, the worst in 50 years, has been gripping Taiwan for the past several months.

According to the Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC), 156,000 tons of water are needed per day to operate their microchip manufacturing plant. That’s enough water to fill roughly 60 Olympic-sized swimming pools every day.

TSMC is the largest chip manufacturer in the world. The company supplies chips to just about every company, large and small, globally. So, if production has slowed down, in this case, due to a shortage of water, this means the impact is likely being felt just about everywhere. And don’t expect this to get any better anytime soon. Typically, Taiwan is considered one of the wettest countries in the world. So, in the past, it had the necessary enormous amounts of water to manufacture microchips.

But a new study, published June 24, 2021, in Physics.org. from “The Journal of Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics,” suggests persistent air pollution problems going back more than 13 years is reducing the amount of rainfall in the country. The study analyzed data from 2005 to 2017 and suggests that aerosol concentrations have been building up in the atmosphere around Taiwan.

These concentrations have directly reduced the amount of rainfall in the country. “These drought conditions are impacting people’s daily lives and industrial production,” said Qilong Min, a research associate at UAlbany’s Atmospheric Sciences Research Center (ASRC) and the study coauthor.

“Scientists are trying to understand the linkage of the drought and other environmental factors. We’re looking closely at all those environmental factors—including aerosols in the atmosphere. Our analysis is showing a clear linkage that when air pollution is higher, it results in a decrease in the characteristics of rain droplets and frequency of drizzle events.”

Some observers suggest that if Taiwan no longer has the necessary water to manufacture microchips, why not just build new plants in new countries?

Much easier said than done.

First, new plants would need to be built in countries that have vast amounts of water, just as Taiwan traditionally has been blessed with. Few countries have that. Further, these are very costly manufacturing facilities. To replace them would cost billions of dollars, which likely would need to be paid by governments.

Another thing to consider, the people working in these plants are highly skilled. Most have been trained specifically to work in this manufacturing facility doing this type of work. Replacing these people in another, possibly remote area of the world, would likely prove difficult.

So what options do we have?

The first is one we have not addressed. That is that this summer is, by all accounts, a true game changer when it comes to water and drought. It’s all around us, year after year, from California to Taiwan. People are beginning to realize this is long-term and to recognize the connection between climate change and its impact on people’s lives, manufacturing, and worldwide economies.

The second is more obvious. Plants in Taiwan and similar plants worldwide need to develop manufacturing technologies that do not require as much water to manufacture microchips. Already recycling and filtering systems are being introduced. However, TSMC and other companies likely should have been working much harder on developing new water-reducing technologies long before it became a crisis.

Finally, reducing water consumption and using water much more responsibly, efficiently, and sustainably must now be on everyone’s mind. Remember, this summer, the summer of 2021, is a game changer for dry weather and drought. We need to make changes now to protect our futures.

More Ways to Reduce Water Consumption

This Drought Looks Like
a Real Gamechanger

The western part of the United States is experiencing one of the worst droughts in years. And this one looks like a real gamechanger. More people now realize this is part of a permanent trend.

Fortunately, many western states have learned from past droughts and now manage water much better than a decade ago. Further, new technologies have been introduced that help us use water more efficiently.

However, the future calls for more stringent steps to reduce consumption, especially in commercial facilities. 

"Because a great deal of the water used in commercial facilities is used for landscaping," says Klaus Reichardt, CEO, and Founder of Waterless CO., Inc., "that's the first place to start."  

Among his recommendation:

• Catalog all vegetation growing around the building and determine which plants/vegetation can be replaced with native plants that use less water.

• Analyze the land layout. Higher areas likely need more water than lower areas due to water runoff.

• Switch to recycled water. Treated wastewater can be used at such places as golf courses and cemeteries. "These locations use huge amounts of water for irrigation. Converting them to recycled water reduces water consumption dramatically."

• Irrigate only at night.

• Install water sensors to determine if irrigation is even needed.

• Install several water meters to monitor how much water is being used throughout the property.

"However, if a facility is not landscaped, then [we need to] focus on restrooms," says Reichardt. "This is where the most water is consumed in these facilities."

Among the steps he suggests building owners and managers take are the following:

• Install aerators in all faucets.

• Look for and fix leaks.

• Install new urinals that consume less water per flush or transfer to waterless urinals that use no water at all. They are also less costly to install and maintain.

"As for toilets, the keyword today is 'velocity,'" says Reichardt. "Newer toilets use compressed air – velocity - to flush waste. This technology eliminates the need for second flushes and reduces water consumption dramatically."

Public Restrooms: How to Design For All

Public restrooms pose a distinct challenge that embodies the essential goal of design: to create functional spaces in institutional and commercial facilities without sacrificing aesthetic quality. COVID-19 has accelerated the advancement of public restroom design across market sectors.

By shifting to single-user, gender-neutral restrooms, managers can make restrooms more personal and inclusive and less institutionalized.

Public expectations for sanitization in facilities are at an all-time high, and customers are increasingly looking for a positive restroom experience. Functional components of hygiene, cleanability, and conservation of resources remain primary concerns, tempered by the innate need to be surrounded by aesthetically pleasing design.

Touchless and sustainable

The trend of touchless technology will continue to be the primary arbiter of change. Sensor-activated faucets came into prominence in the early 1980s and have proven to be one of the most important and lasting innovations in restroom design. Fixtures continued to improve over the decades, in terms of reliability, cost and efficiency. 

The newest touchless fixture solutions combine faucet, dryer, and soap dispensers with trough-style sinks. Safety and appearance retention are the primary goals of these combination style units. Because hand washing and drying occur in the same space, water spills on the floor are limited, mitigating slip-and-fall conditions. Deeper sinks also help minimize splash. 

Conservation also is a major consideration in the design of public restrooms. For example, hand dryers are not only convenient but reduce paper towel waste. An increased focus on resource conservation, coupled with the popularity of touchless combination units, led to the development of waterless urinals in the 1990s. In light of the pandemic, as more customers and guests are keen on cleanliness, the use of waterless urinals will expand.

While waterless urinals are common in high throughput public facilities, such as stadiums and highway rest stops, waterless toilets have not yet become mainstream. These devices greatly reduce the spread of bacteria because users do not need to touch the device due to the lack of a flushing requirement.

Currently an outlier, the waterless or composting toilet was featured prominently by the Bill and Melinda Gates foundation in the Netflix movie, “Inside Bill’s Brain: Decoding Bill Gates.” The foundation sponsored a competition that addressed the need for sanitary waste disposal in developing countries.

While these systems often target residential use in rural areas, the same technology could be applied to higher capacity public restrooms in the future. The increasing price of water will drive acceptance of these new approaches. As water continues to be a scarce resource in many regions and water futures are traded on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, the transition to waterless technology for commercial use seems highly probable over the next 10 years.

Touchless fixtures help create a cleaner restroom by managing stock and having fewer touchpoints to disinfect. Similarly, waterless urinals help reduce odor complaints.

Maintenance labor costs remain a primary concern for building owners and managers because demands for wage increases and wage parity become increasingly prominent in today’s current socio-political environment. As a result, the need for easily cleanable fixtures and materials will continue to grow. 

To Read more from the original article by Rick Marencic, on Facilitiesnet.com, click here.

Have a Happy, Healthy and Safe July 4th!

We at Waterless want to wish each and every one of you, our clients,
and our future clients a happy, healthy, and safe July 4th weekend.

Let’s acknowledge all the people that fought so hard to keep our country
safe and strong – and are still doing so.

We have much to be grateful for, including living in the USA.

This country symbolizes freedom, happiness, and prosperity for people all over the world.

Enjoy your holiday and please, if you are out in a park, at the ocean, or climbing a mountain,
remember, we must all use water responsibly. 

A Photo Essay - California faces another drought as lake beds turn to dust

Water shortages and dry conditions are already affecting the state as the governor has declared an emergency in 41 of 58 counties

Verdant hillsides losing their hue, receding reservoirs with bathtub rings of newly exposed earth, crops withering in the fields.

These are the visions of California’s parched landscape as the state braces for another potentially devastating drought. Water shortages and exceptionally dry conditions are already beginning to hit home.

To read and see more photos, click here to take you to the original article on Guardian.com

How Waterless Urinals are Changing Schools in India

For some visitors to this site, the following may be a bit difficult to read. However, we should keep in mind that the conditions described here are quite common around the world.

In many parts of India, school restrooms do not have urinals. Instead, the restrooms typically have a blank wall. Boys are expected to urinate against the wall. 

Further, they are expected to then fetch a bucket of water and toss it against the wall. The problem is that all too often, there is no bucket, and even if there is, the water source may not be working.

Complicating issues, many schools in India do not have custodial workers and, if they do, cleaning is very infrequent. The result: boys’ restrooms throughout many parts of the country are dirty, smelly, and very unsanitary.

This situation is causing another problem. Sanitation is always a big concern in India, and the recent COVID outbreak has made it even worse. Teachers and parents believe the unsanitary restrooms are causing boys to grow up with little concern about proper hygiene and cleanliness. This may lead to even more public health problems in the future.

Until recently, addressing this challenge has proven difficult and very costly. To install traditional, water-using urinals in schools throughout India would cost millions of dollars and prove to be a major undertaking. Furthermore, water is not always available when needed. Even in the best conditions, water delivery can be intermittent, but during droughts, water delivery may be turned off for hours at a time. If water-using urinals were installed, they would likely make the restrooms even more smelly and unhealthy as waste accumulates in them.

However, a solution has materialized, to help promote proper hygiene, keep boys’ restrooms cleaner and healthier, and change behaviors so that boys value sanitation—the savior: waterless urinals.

Waterless urinals are being installed in schools throughout the country.   Because they are waterless, no water must be delivered to the urinal, eliminating that need and that cost. As the urinals are used, urine is drained into sewer pipes that are already hooked up to the schools.

Students are also participating in the installation of waterless urinals in their schools. This helps reduce the costs of installation, and their involvement also gives the boys a sense of ownership, not only for the urinals but the entire restroom.

Teachers and parents believe this is also helping to change behaviors. Boys are more focused on health and protecting health. With all these advantages, some are now wondering why no one thought of installing waterless urinals earlier.