BILL REQ. #:  S-1310.2 

Read first time 02/09/09.   Referred to Committee on Environment, Water & Energy.

     AN ACT Relating to water conservation appliances; adding a new section to chapter 19.27 RCW; and creating a new section.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:

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     (i) Less water withdrawn from rivers, lakes, and aquifers, which keeps these water bodies healthy;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 toilets, sold or installed 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 high efficiency urinals.
     (3) Each manufacturer of toilets and urinals that sells toilets or urinals in this state must offer for sale in this state a minimum percentage of high efficiency toilets and high efficiency urinals, as required by (a) through (e) of this subsection. The minimum required percentage in (a) through (e) of this subsection is compared to the total number of models of toilets and urinals offered for sale in this state by that manufacturer:
     (a) A minimum of fifty percent in 2010;
     (b) A minimum of sixty-seven percent in 2011;
     (c) A minimum of seventy-five percent in 2012;
     (d) A minimum of eighty-five percent in 2013; and
     (e) One hundred percent in 2014 and thereafter.
     (4) The definitions in this subsection apply throughout this section unless the context clearly requires otherwise.
     (a) "High efficiency toilet" means a toilet that is either of the following:
     (i) A dual flush toilet with an effective flush volume that does not exceed 1.28 gallons, 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.
     (b) "High efficiency urinal" means a urinal that uses no more than 0.5 gallons per flush.
     (c) "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.
     (d) "Urinal" means a water using urinal.
     (e) "Wall-mounted wall outlet toilets" means models that are mounted on the wall and discharge to the drainage system through the wall.