In 1994, Congress passed the Energy Policy and Conservation Act, mandating that the size of toilet bowls be reduced from the standard 3.5-gallon capacity to 1.6 gallons to conserve the amount of water lost in each flush. But opponents of the measure argue that the smaller toilet bowls clog up more easily, requiring frequent flushing and perhaps wasting more water in the long run. Representative Joe Knollenberg (R-MI) has introduced legislation to repeal the ban on larger toilets, leaving states and municipalities to set their own toilet-bowl limits. Other critics note the emergence of a black market to meet demand for the older model of toilet.

Still, proponents of the mandate argue that some designs of the smaller toilet work better than others. [Ed.: They're the ones that sound like a jet plane taking off.] Edward Pollack, deputy director of the Office of Codes and Standards at the Department of Energy, argues that in addition to abandoning the goal of water conservation, the repeal would also mean manufacturers would have to scrap all their work on the smaller model and be forced to spend additional money to revert to the older model.

Great Britain's new prime minister, Tony Blair, has also championed revised toilet standards. A Labour party campaign document, "Ending the Waste," blasted the Tories for failing to promote the latest technology in flush toilets. England must be "leading the world" in water use, and failure to adopt European Union standards for water use is "not good enough." Current EU standards mandate the following:

• Toilet bowls must have a 1.6-gallon maximum capacity

• Sawdust dropped in a damp bowl must not stick to more than 5,000 square millimeters.

• A ball of twelve sheets of toilet paper has to go down four times out of five.

• A mass of resin with the same approximate density as human fecal matter also has to go down four times out of five.

[Ed.: Reacting to Rep. Knollenberg's proposal to rescind the 1992 toilet mandate, Newsweek's Eleanor Clift called it "loony in the sense that you can't have every locality decide what the water standards are and I don't think the people of one state should be allowed to flush three times at whim while the people of California have to conserve water."]

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