Restroom Care: Kaiser Study Analyzes No-Water Urinal Systems

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Can Waterless No-Flush™ urinals save building owners more than just water? The answer is yes, according to a study conducted by Kaiser Permanente Hospital at a facility in San Francisco.

The hospital assumed that at least 75 percent, if not 90 percent, of all visits to the facility’s 14 men’s restrooms were to use the urinals. It calculated that if they retrofitted conventional urinals using on average 3 gallons of water per flush to the Waterless systems, the savings would amount to 55 gallons of water per urinal per day—more than 280,000 gallons of water annually.

But how do these savings translate into dollars and cents? Based on current rates, the hospital estimates they would save more than $2,100 annually or about $52,500 over the expected 25-year life span of the waterless urinals.

And, using the higher restroom-usage figure of 90 percent, the savings would be closer to $2,500 annually or $62,500 over a 25-year period.  What’s more, these savings will increase further if water and sewer prices rise, which is expected.

But the study warned that facility managers must select the right no-water urinal system to realize these savings. They noted the EcoTrap used in the Waterless system costs approximately 20 percent less than the trap inserts of other manufacturers and lasts three to four times longer.