Project makes call of nature unfair for some

• Source: Global Times
• [09:39 May 18 2010]
• Comments

By Ye Jun

As Shanghai continues to carry out its plan to make the city more water-efficient, some residents say the program offering households free installation of a device that enables people to save water when flushing their toilets is being unfairly administered.

The Shanghai Water Authority project, in its seventh year, has already updated some 200,000 toilet bowl water tanks in old residential homes, to save up to three liters of water per flush. The water tanks of these toilet bowls previously held up to nine liters of water.

Of the remaining some 400,000 toilet bowl water tanks that will be updated, about 12,000 of them are scheduled to be completed by the end of the year.

But some locals, whose homes have not been selected for the project, say it excludes them from the opportunity to bring down their water bills.

"My neighborhood has certainly not been covered," Shi Dongdong, who rents an apartment in an old residential compound in Changning district, told the Global Times Tuesday.

"I've noticed that my toilet uses quite a lot of water for flushing," he added. "The project has good intentions, but why does it not cover more households?"

According to the Shanghai Water Authority, the ultimate goal of the 20-million-yuan ($2.93 million) initiative, which aims to conserve some 2.9 million cubic meters of water annually, is to educate local residents on how minor household changes can contribute to sustainable living.

"Of the four major daily household expenditures, namely water, electricity, gas, and telecommunication, water accounts for the smallest per-centage, and thus is often neglected," according to a director of the Shanghai Water Authority who declined to disclose his name when he spoke with the Global Times Tuesday.

"The project therefore aims to raise awareness on the importance of saving water among local residents," he said.

The director did, however, say that residents of households, which were not selected for the project by community committees, are welcome to apply at their local branch. He said these applications will be considered.

The Shanghai Water Authority is also working on a number of other water-saving initiatives to make some 1,000 residential communities, 50 public university campuses, six industrial parks, and over 130 enterprises more water-efficient by the end of the year. Details on those plans have not yet been released.