Why don%26#039;t we route filtered sea water to toilet flushes instead of purified water? We don%26#039;t have to desalinate it, just a simple filtration would be sufficient. Would the salt water cause a wear and tear problem on the ceramic, the plubming or flushing devices if this is done? Would it not be cheaper to maintain and replace those instead of wasting purified water?
http://www.americanwater.com/49ways.htm

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thanks for a great answer and good feedback. I%26#039;m planning on writing up a proposal to the government of Australia and need all the information I can get. This involves infrastructre changes on a massive scale, hundreds of millions of dollars, and have to show that it will pay off. Thanks bro!

Other Answers (11)

• It should work but ehy would have to make separate piping for toilets flush. You can have the sea water while bathing / brushing. Lot of new plumbing work to be done.
• I think the salt would corrode all sorts of things...I heard of a great company somewhere here in Australia where they organize the plumbing of the house so that gray water is used in the toilet (somewhat refined washing machine/bathing water). I think this is something that should be encouraged.
• bad idea because metal pipes will corrode rapidly. maintainance cost will go up. and if you live in a country where the sea is so far, imagine you have to build miles and miles of pipes. But good try.
• Ok, let%26#039;s forget for a minute that it will cause major corrosion problems.
  
  Actually, yes you would have to desalinate it. Keep in mind that this water goes directly to the waste treatment plants. The key to making these plants work is bacterial decomposition of the human waste. The bacteria can%26#039;t live in salt water, so the waste won%26#039;t decompose.
  
  And, desalination is extremely expensive.
  
  I%26#039;ll give you an %26quot;A%26quot; for thinking out of the box, but you also have to be aware of unintended consequences.
• Salt causes corrosion -%26gt; increased maintenance.
  
  Can%26#039;t mix salt water with the fresh water taps -%26gt; Separate pipes all the way from the source.
  
  The flush tank is an emergency reserve of drinking water, so that wouldn%26#039;t work either.
• The salt water might have a detrimental effect on the %26quot;bugs%26quot; in the waste water treatment plant. If you kill the bugs, you will end up dumping raw sewerage into what ever stream, lake or ocean your waste water plant discharges into. Also, the salt water will attack your plumbing and fixtures.
• Why use sea water? There%26#039;s plenty of other waste water created in a house that could be used. Some Japanese buildings use the water from washing hands to fill up the tank. Use all the water you want to wash your hands, then any extra needed to fill up the tank comes from the usual pipe. When my well runs close to dry in the summer I have a couple 5 gallon buckets I fill after a shower and use to fill up the toilet tank after each flush. For a house of 4, it can save over 50 gallons of water a day.
• There are systems that collect rainwater and use that in toilets and for other non-potable purposes. There%26#039;s a Ford truck plant in Michigan that does this. The water%26#039;s a little brown but you know it%26#039;s just rainwater.
• salt water would make my dog sick and we live in a sueing society
• The main reason is you have to run two sets of pipes. It%26#039;s cost prohibitive.
  
  But, in newer areas some water companies are running another set of pipes and using reclaimed water for flushing. It is already used in golf courses and many public areas for irrigation, but as new homes are designed and built, the extra pipes required to carry the recycled wate are included. This saves the best water for consumptive uses.
• sounds like a great idea!!! ask are %26quot;leader%26quot; but they would just lie,or never answer you..sounds good