Soaring water bills lead Builth Wells Town Council to consider waterless urinals in public toilets again

Builth Wells Town Council did investigate the costs and options for introducing waterless urinals at its public toilets on the Groe last year.

They felt a quote of about £6,000 at the time was too expensive.

But town clerk Louise Hammond said the water company had been out and the cost of water in the toilets is £309 per

“There is no flood or leak there, it is just the volume of the water being used in the urinals,” she told the town council recently.”

Councillor Gwyn Davies, who owns the Fountain Inn said he had changed three urinals there to waterless ones.

He explained that it cost him about £1,000 and in the bottom of the urinals there is a de-odouriser, which they change about once or twice a year.

But he said the cost of putting them in had soon been paid back.

Councillor Davies said; “Urinals use a lot of water because they are running all day every day. 

“There would be a cost to set it up but the cost of water is not going to get any cheaper and it would save a lot of water, so would be more environmentally friendly.”

He said for the three or four urinals in the Groe toilets, plus pipework and plumbing contractor costs, it would be an outlay but it would save money on the water bill.

Mrs Hammond said they could get some new, up-to-date quotes and consider it again.

Councillor Davies said otherwise they could explore putting a senor on the current urinals, so the water would stop running between 7pm and 7am, which should cut the water bill in half.

Members agreed to look at both options and get quotations.