Ultra-low-flush toilets alone reduce water usage by 15 percent; complaints said to be minimal.
What a difference a decade makes. Ten years ago plumbing industry interests clashed with those of environmentalists and water authorities in mandating 1.6 gpf toilets and other ultra-low-flow (ULF) plumbing products on a state-by-state basis. Manufacturers eventually were compelled to support federal legislation in order to avoid the confusion and expense of complying with a hodge-podge of state and local ULF laws. Now they have joined forces once again in fighting off a legislative initiative to rescind the national ULF mandates in effect for the last eight years.
As most of you know, Rep. Joseph Knollenberg (R-Mich.), claiming widespread consumer dissatisfaction with 1.6 gpf toilets, has introduced H.R. 859, which would repeal the plumbing products provisions of the 1992 Energy Policy Conservation Act (EPAct). The Knollenberg bill has more than 60 co-sponsors and at this writing is in the House Commerce Committee waiting for a hearing and floor action.