SSB 5948 -
By Senator Rockefeller
Strike everything after the enacting clause and insert the following:
"NEW SECTION. Sec. 1 (1) The legislature finds that:
(a) Water is vital to the survival of life on the planet and is
limited in supply. Communities across the state are starting to face
challenges regarding water supply and water infrastructure. One way to
help extend Washington's water supply is by promoting water efficiency
and enhancing the market for water efficient products, programs, and
practices;
(b) Bathrooms are, by far, the largest user of water in the home,
responsible for about one-half of total indoor water use;
(c) Toilets account for approximately thirty percent of residential
indoor water consumption. Toilets are a major source of wasted water
due to leaks or inefficiency. Under federal and state law, toilets
sold in the United States must not exceed 1.6 gallons per flush. High
efficiency toilets go beyond the standard and use less than 1.3 gallons
per flush. Power assist and pressure assist toilets use even less
water, some even less than one gallon of water per flush. If every
home in the United States replaced old toilets with new high efficiency
toilets, the savings would be more than nine hundred billion gallons of
water a year;
(d) Bathroom faucets account for more than fifteen percent of
indoor household water use, more than one trillion gallons of water in
the United States. High efficiency bathroom sink faucets and
accessories such as aerators can reduce the standard flow of a bathroom
faucet by more than thirty percent without sacrificing performance. By
installing a high efficiency bathroom sink faucet, an average household
will save more than five hundred gallons of water each year;
(e) Showering is one of the top uses of residential water in the
United States, representing approximately seventeen percent of indoor
water use--more than 1.2 trillion gallons of water each year. A full
bath tub requires about seventy gallons of water, while taking a five-minute shower uses ten to twenty-five gallons; and
(f) Besides saving water and reducing a customer's costs, water
efficiency offers many other benefits:
(i) Less water withdrawn from rivers, lakes, and aquifers, which
keeps these water bodies healthy;
(ii) Improved water quality due to increased river flows;
(iii) Less energy required to pump and treat the water, therefore
less greenhouse gas emissions;
(iv) Less wastewater that requires collection, treatment, and
disposal; and
(v) Less pollution from treated wastewater in our streams and
waterways.
(2) It is therefore the intent of the legislature to encourage
water efficiency by requiring the building code council to set a policy
regarding high efficiency toilets.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 2 A new section is added to chapter 19.27 RCW
to read as follows:
(1) By January 1, 2014, all toilets, other than institutional and
commercial toilets, toilets used by children in day care facilities,
and toilets used in bariatric applications, sold or installed in new
residences in this state must be high efficiency toilets.
(2) By January 1, 2014, all urinals, other than institutional
urinals, sold or installed in this state must be in accordance with the
plumbing code.
(3) This section applies only to properties served by a sewer
system.
(4) The definitions in this subsection apply throughout this
section unless the context clearly requires otherwise.
(a) "Commercial toilets" means models that utilize a nontank
pressurized flushing device, which means a device where a valve is
attached to a pressurized water supply pipe and designed that when
actuated, it opens the line for direct flow into the fixture at a rate
and quantity to properly operate the fixture and gradually closes in
order to avoid water hammer. The pipe to which this device is
connected is of sufficient size that, when open, the device delivers
water at a sufficient rate of flow for flushing purposes.
(b) "High efficiency toilet" means a toilet that meets the
performance, testing, and labeling requirements prescribed by American
society of mechanical engineers A112.19.2/Canadian standards
association B45.1-2008 standard ceramic plumbing fixtures and, if
applicable, American society of mechanical engineers A112.19.14-2006
standard six liter water closets equipped with a dual flushing device
and is either of the following:
(i) A dual flush toilet with an effective flush volume that does
not exceed 1.28 gallons as determined by American society of mechanical
engineers A112.19.14-2006 standard six liter water closets equipped
with a dual flushing device, where effective flush volume is defined as
the composite, average flush volume of two reduced flushes and one full
flush; or
(ii) A single flush toilet where the effective flush volume may not
exceed 1.28 gallons as determined by the test procedures contained in
American society of mechanical engineers A112.19.2/Canadian standards
association B45.1-2008 standard ceramic plumbing fixtures.
(c) "High efficiency urinal" means a urinal that uses no more than
0.5 gallons per flush as determined by the test procedures contained in
American society of mechanical engineers A112.19.2/Canadian standards
association B45.1-2008 standard ceramic plumbing fixtures.
(d) "Institutional toilet" means any toilet fixture with a design
not typically found in residential or commercial applications or that
is designed for a specialized application, including, but not limited
to, wall-mounted wall outlet toilets, toilets used in jails or prisons,
toilets used in bariatrics applications, and child toilets used in day
care facilities.
(e) "Nonwater supplied urinal" means a urinal that meets the
performance, testing, and labeling requirements prescribed by either
American society of mechanical engineers standard A112.19.19-2006
vitreous china nonwater urinals or the international association of
plumbing and mechanical officials American national standards institute
Z124.9-2004 standard plastic urinal fixtures as appropriate.
(f) "Urinal" means a water using urinal.
(g) "Wall-mounted wall outlet toilets" means models that are
mounted on the wall and discharge to the drainage system through the
wall."
SSB 5948 -
By Senator
On page 1, line 1 of the title, after "appliances;" strike the remainder of the title and insert "adding a new section to chapter 19.27 RCW; and creating a new section."