It hasn’t taken long for some of the most obvious unintended consequences to appear: More people are complaining that their shower experience is deteriorating due to lower flow rates, and shower times are increasing as people have to shower longer to wash the shampoo out of their hair. Others complain of having to flush a toilet multiple times to get human waste down the drain. While the plumbing industry continues to try to respond to users’ needs, the advances are now hitting against the limits of physics and science, especially in regard to piping systems.
While the impact of water reductions is certainly an issue on domestic water supplies, we need to make sure not to lose sight of the effect lower volumes of water is having on sanitary piping systems. The concerns of reduced flow in distribution piping is often spoken of at length, but the issue of reducing the flow of water that is going to our sewer systems also has much documentation.