High Standards Are in the Toilet
* One ingredient of a good news story is an anomaly--man bites dog--and the recent travails of the Mission Viejo couple whose ultra-low-flush toilet was malfunctioning certainly fit the bill (“This Column Has Been Sanitized for Your Protection,” Dana Parsons column, Aug. 18). Their experience was an anomaly because thousands of the same model have been installed throughout Southern California without similar problems.
The same day that Dana Parsons’ column appeared in The Times, Evelyn and her husband were contacted by the firm that Metropolitan Water District of Southern California contracts to operate its toilet retrofit programs in conjunction with local water agencies. Had Evelyn called the toll-free number, they would have sent a plumber to resolve the problems at no charge--a service offered to all.
Evelyn and her husband have accepted an offer of two new fixtures manufactured by another company. The toilets removed from Evelyn’s house will be returned to their manufacturer for testing.
We are glad to report that the situation has been resolved and that Evelyn’s case was a rarity. Nearly 900,000 ultra-low-flush toilets and 3 million low-flow shower heads have been installed in Metropolitan’s service area in recent years, resulting in annual water savings of 1.4 billion gallons. You might say we’re flush with success, but there remains work to be done.
Thank you for your help in resolving Evelyn’s problems and bringing attention to the toilet retrofit program. It appears that everyone has benefited.
JAY MALINOWSKI
Director of public affairs and conservation
Metropolitan Water District of Southern California
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