Waterless Urinals

With resource costs steadily on the rise, building

“green” may not be the expensive decision it once
was. Waterless urinals are a cost-effective and
highly efficient way to help achieve the goal of a
LEED-certified building. Not only do they
substantially reduce water usage, but they’re also
easy to obtain, install, and maintain.

According to one manufacturer of waterless urinals

(Falcon Water Free Technologies), you can save, on
average, 45,000 gallons of water per year with one
urinal. A Texas elementary school was retrofitted
with 10 waterless urinals and achieved a 15-20%
reduction in water consumption. The water and
sewer savings alone resulted in a two-year payback.

LEED APPLICATION

Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design

(LEED) is a program administered by the United
States Green Building Council that uses a Green
Building Rating System to register and certify the
world’s greenest buildings. Since buildings currently
use 12% of the potable water consumed in the U.S., Waterless Company www.waterless.com
they have the potential to have a large impact on our
energy conservation efforts. GREEN BUILDING ISSUES

This system assigns point values to different green
building practices and then awards a certain level of
certification based on the number of points
achieved.
There are five broad credit categories from which to
obtain points: Sustainable Sites, Water Efficiency,
Energy & Atmosphere, Material & Resources, and
Indoor Environmental Quality. There are a total of
69 points available. To become certified at the base
level, you need 26 of these points. Additional points
may achieve a silver (33 pts), gold (39 pts), or
platinum (52 pts) certification.
Waterless urinals fall under the broad category of
Water Efficiency. More specifically, they can help
achieve points under the Water Use Reduction
credit. There are two possible points in this category
if you can reduce your water usage by 30% (you get
one point for a 20% reduction).
According to Environmental Building News (EBN),
one of the main advantages to waterless urinals is
their water usage savings. Most of the 8-9 million
urinals in the U.S. average 3 gpf, although the new
models use only 1.0 gpf. Individual water savings
will vary depending on use. However, in a small
office building with one urinal and 25 males working
260 days, you can save 19,500 gallons by
substituting a waterless urinal for a 1.0 gpf urinal.
You can save 58,500 gallons of water if you
substitute the waterless urinals for a 3.0 gpf unit.
One case study involves the Bureau of Reclamation
at the Glen Canyon Dam Visitors Center. They
installed three waterless urinals there, and due to
very high usage saved an estimated 225,000 gallons
of water per year. This allowed them to avoid a
planned $600,000 on-site sewage treatment
expansion. This demonstrates how savings come
from not only lower water usage but lower sewage
usage also.

Another benefit to waterless urinals is their

increased hygiene. Most people think that a urinal

K-State Department of Architectural Engineering & Construction Science, 240 Seaton Hall, Manhattan, KS 66506, www.ksu.edu/are-cns/, July 2004
that doesn’t “wash” itself with water will be dirtier
than one that does. This is not true. According to
EBN, bacteria, the primary concern in bathrooms,
need a moist environment to live. The primary
source of bacteria in bathrooms is fecal matter from
toilets; as toilets are flushed, some of the bacteria
become airborne. These airborne bacteria settle on
surfaces close to toilets, but survive only on moist
surfaces. Waterless urinals are designed to dry out
between uses, so they do not provide as hospitable
an environment for bacteria as conventional (wet)
urinals and sinks. Users also report less urine smell
than they experienced with conventional urinals.
Even the chemicals used to make the urinal work
are biodegradable and environmentally friendly.
DESIGN/CONSTRUCTION APPLICATION
So how does this waterless urinal manage to not
smell like urine without a water-filled trap? The
solution for the Waterless Co. lies in its “EcoTrap®”.
Other companies use similar systems. As urine
flows into the EcoTrap it passes through a
lightweight biodegradable fluid called “Blue Seal®”.
This liquid provides the “trap” for the odors.
from: http://www.waterless.com/ecotrap.php
A variation on this theme from Falcon WaterFree
Technologies is shown in the diagram below. Both
of these traps allow sediment to settle at the bottom,
which can help keep the pipe free from buildup.
from: http://www.falconwaterfree.com/
K-State Department of Architectural Engineering & Construction Science, 240 Seaton Hall, Manhattan, KS 66506, www.ksu.edu/are-cns/, July 2004
Waterless urinals will need periodic maintenance
consisting of cleaning the bowling, adding BlueSeal,
and replacing the EcoTrap. BlueSeal should be
added twice a month to replace the small amount
that washes down the drain with each use. The
EcoTrap should be replaced two to four times a year
due to the sediment buildup. A gallon of hot water
should be used to flush out the drain line when the
EcoTrap is removed. The BlueSeal costs about $16
per quart, and the EcoTrap costs about $5.50 and is
recyclable. However, even with the periodic
maintenance required, there is still an average
annual savings of $80-$120 per urinal. This comes
from the lack of moving parts and piping. Waterless
urinals also virtually eliminate the possibility of an
overflow.
According to EBN, waterless urinals cost around
$500 dollars with their flush valve counterparts
costing about the same or a little more (depending
on the flush valve specified). Some authorities also
offer rebates and incentives for installing waterless
urinals; for example $160 per fixture from the Seattle
Water Department.
ADDITIONAL INFO
Sources for this document and additional information
can be found at the following locations:
1. www.usgbc.org
2. http://www.rotaloo.com/waterle2.pdf
3. http://www.waterless.com/
4. http://www.epa.gov/ne/assistance/univ/pdfs/bmps/M
USCH20LessUrinals.pdf
5. http://www.buildinggreen.com
6. http://www.falconwaterfree.com/
This GreenBuild Tech Bulletin was developed by
Luke Knapp, a student at Kansas State University.
As designers and builders of structural, mechanical,
electrical, and plumbing systems in buildings,
architectural engineers and constructors have a
tremendous opportunity and responsibility to
address energy and/or environmental impacts in
their work.