How far can you go to save water? Nader Habib reviews a website that offers creative insights Saving water is an issue of vital concern for people all over the world. Experts even warn of water wars in the future because of astronomic population growth rates leading to extreme pressures to control water resources and provide potable water and water for agriculture and industry. Campaigns by governments, international environmental agencies and NGOs have for decades been urging people to save water. Individual efforts are nevertheless as important. Today, a web site dedicated to the daily waste use of water, the toilet, provides information on the subject. While it may seem absurd for some people, the interesting facts the website mentions deserve attention. Kay Keating, the web editor virtually turns the toilet into a science and calls it "toiletology", where she tries to collect all the information about the toilet from the beginning. She writes about the history and the chronology of the toilet all over the world from the Pharaohs until the latest version available today. She gives the visitors information about the latest statistics of using water at home, (bath 1.7 per cent -- shower 16.8 per cent -- faucet 15.7 per cent -- leak 13.7 per cent -- clothes washer 21.7 per cent -- dishwasher 1.4 per cent -- toilet 26.7 per cent -- other domestic 20.2 per cent). Surprisingly, the humble toilet is the greatest waster of water. Keating offers many ways to save this wasted water. She suggests using the manual maintenance for the flush valve, and browsing her curious website there are different types of flush valves available. The site also offers electro-mechanical ways of saving water by using a new innovative "flush mate" operating system, which channels energy from the water supply line to finish a flush. As the vessel fills with water, the supply line pressure is used to compress the trapped air, which forces the water into the toilet bowl with a specially designed jet at the entrance of the trap way. There are other more innovative ideas that reduce the usage of water that are found on the web, like redesigning the rest room by putting the hand wash tub above the toilet bowl flush so the waste water can be used from the hand wash tub to flush the wastes from the toilet. Visit: http://www.toiletology.com
