Sanitation timebomb: Flushing is a luxury we can't afford

Not only does it take six to nine litres to flush a toilet, nearly 60% of household water consumption is used to transport human waste away. On World Toilet Day — 19 November — we have to learn from the consequences of climate events, both floods and droughts. Many people highlight the water crisis but the issue of sanitation is downplayed.

The failure of infrastructure and interruptions in water supply exacerbate the situation. On the back of this, and together with growing urbanisation, water availability is a growing crisis. From Johannesburg to San Francisco, to Delhi and Bangalore, there are examples in both the developed and developing world that indicate that to flush is becoming a luxury we can no longer afford.

Not only does it take six to nine litres to flush a toilet, nearly 60% of household water consumption is used to transport human waste away. In water stressed environments this is a growing problem — a sanitation timebomb waiting to go off. It is a sin that in today's modern times, of growing water constraints, that we continue to flush away our waste.

The Achilles' heel is the lack of sanitation technology and innovation. The sector's infrastructure-driven culture has blinded us from adopting and driving innovation and solutions. We are still locked into a 200-year-old "Victorian" technology and this is one of the key factors in the poor and undignified sanitation in urban and rural settlements, rural schools, clinics, hospitals and households.

But this.