Dual Flush - Water Conservation

Drinking water represents an extremely scarce resource in many places all over the world; according to official data from 2006, as many as 1.1 billion people are suffering from inadequate supply of drinking water. Water prices also keep rising in the heart of Europe, although seemingly in negligible steps, so far: starting January 2010, inhabitants of Prague are charged the rate of CZK 56.51 per cubic meter for water supply and sewage collection, which represents average monthly increase of CZK 25.50 per a four-member family, or CZK 306 per year, compared to 2007 figures. And again next year we will pay a little extra, at least by the inflation rate. Of course, this minimum increase only applies to those that know how to conserve water.

We need to emphasize that costly and scarce drinking water is actually used for all purposes in our households. It runs through faucets into washbasins, kitchen sinks, dishwashers, washing machines, showers and bathtubs, and it is also used to flush toilets and urinals. And we can easily waste thousands at all these places! Flushing is no doubt the most evident example. If you are still using a toilet from the old days in your household, it is quite certain that you are wasting 12 litres (perhaps 9 litres in some exceptional cases) of water per flushing.

According to research performed by Veolia utility company, as much as 8 litres of water is used per flushing on the average, which represents approx. 55.48 m3 for a four-member family, i.e. CZK 3135 per year (rate for the capital of Prague).

Are you aware of the current standards and trends?„All WCs produced by JIKA are fitted with a dual flush system, employing either 3 or 6 litres of flushing water. This has been made possible by significant developments of outlet valves. From simple outlet ´openers´ they have gradually transformed into relatively sophisticated devices that affect the amount of water consumed. You can choose between two types of valves, either Start Stop or Dual flush,“ explains Petr Čech, head of Laufen CZ training centre. This company is a true pioneer in water saving activities. It helps households and institutions conserve water, thus promoting friendly approach to the nature and our living environment. Using an example of a four-member family from Veolia research, use of water-saving WC with 19 flushes per day results in less than a half consumption, i.e. 26.28 m3 per year, which represents CZK 1485 (for Prague customers in 2010), therefore savings of CZK 1650 per a single WC per year.

There is a significant difference between valve types used by Jika toilets: Start Stop system – as you can guess from its name – is controlled directly by the user. Flushing starts after pressing a button; flushing stops after pressing the button again. Very simple. Use of Dual Flush system is even simpler. Valve is operated by a dual button located at the cistern; by pressing the smaller button section, 3 litres of water are released; 6 litres are released by pressing the larger button section.

„We are only using dual valves for all combined toilets made by JIKA; for wall-hung WCs, users can choose between Start Stop and Dual Flush systems for their flush-mounted cisterns,,“ adds Petr Čech.