Toilet Economics 101

Nicole e-mailed a list of questions to her soon-to-be boss, and we received the answers yesterday. Most of the answer were predictable, except for this one:

What is the tap water like there? Water is trucked to your home ... comes from the Great Bear River and goes through a filtration system. Some of the cleanest water in Canada. Delivery service is $0.89/L (minimum charge $20). Sewer is pumped and trucked to lagoon.

After four years of living in Newfoundland, water is something we've come to take for granted. Our shower in Corner Brook had enough pressure to blow you against the wall. It was heavenly. The shower we have here in Halifax is almost as powerful, and the hot water NEVER runs out.

Now I'll have to think twice before even brushing my teeth. Well, I'll still brush them, but I'll probably get a cup full of water rather than running the tap.

I really started to think about the cost of this when I considered how much water a toilet uses. Consider this:

Before the 1950s, toilets typically used 7 gallons or more for each flush. By the end of the 1960s, toilets were designed to flush with only 5.5 gallons, and in the 1980s the new toilets being installed were using only 3.5 gallons. Today, a new toilet uses no more than 1.6 gallons of water.
- www.toiletology.com

Assuming our house has a new, 1.6 gallon toilet, it will still cost us about $5.40 for every flush. If we have a 3.5 gallon tank, that cost will jump to $11.70. And if we are unlucky enough to get a 5.5 gallon tank, a flush will cost $18.70!

Of course we'll be saving money too. No vehicle. No take-out or coffee shops. No trips to the mall on Saturday. But still, at five dollars a flush, it's going to hurt. My roommate suggested putting a 2-litre ice cream container filled with rocks in the tank to take up space. Then we would be down to $3.40 a flush: an almost reasonable price. Then again, I may look into outhouse options.