[This month's GreenPlumbers column is a firsthand account of Doug Kirk's trip to Bengaluru (Bangalore) India. Doug works for GreenPlumbers USA as instructor and director of course materials, and he went to India to train the plumbing professionals and industry leaders who will be teaching the GreenPlumbers' curriculum to the country's plumbing contractors and inspectors. We thought you would find a more global perspective an interesting diversion as well as a reassurance that the GreenPlumbers curriculum is, indeed, a worldwide movement.--T.R.]

When I told my wife it had been suggested that I get a U.S. Passport because I might be going to India she knew I was in trouble. Not at work, but that I was going be challenged in a particular way.
   Some people are ready for new adventures. This kind of person looks for things they've never done before. Go to a restaurant and they'll order something they've never tried. Go on a road trip and they've found a new route that promises the best vistas. I'd like to be like them, but my nature is to go with the tried and true. I know what I'm going to order at any particular restaurant. I won't learn to like much else but at least in making the "safe" choice I know I won't be disappointed.
   I spent several weeks sending and receiving information from my counterpart, Subhash Deshpande, in India as he worked to Indian-ize the GreenPlumber presentations I would be making for a new group of trainers in Bengaluru (Bangalore) Dec. 9-12, 2009.
   India has the second largest population in the world, somewhere around 1.2 billion people. The main book I read spoke more about the culture and the differences a person would notice: the dichotomy of seeing slums next to gleaming new high rise apartment buildings; the long-ingrained cultures which varied greatly as you moved across the country from north to south and east to west. I learned there are many dialects but 350 major languages, 22 of which are officially recognized by the Indian Constitution. The fact is, the Indian population sees "strength in diversity" and has no reason to adopt what their neighbor does even if it makes sense.
   Plumbing differences I noticed (a very small sampling):
   Buildings are only supplied with water 1 or 2 hours per day. The water is pumped from the source to a holding tank. In smaller buildings the storage tank is located externally at its highest point and the supply gets to fixtures strictly by gravity. I was told it is common to discard any remaining water the next morning so the stored water would be "fresh." 
   High-rise buildings use a combination of hydro-pneumatic and gravity water distribution. As with typical gravity systems the water is pumped to the roof and flows by gravity to fixtures. The difference is pressure regulators are installed every seventh floor (going down from the roof) so pressure doesn't exceed approximately 2 bars (30 PSI).
   While on this subject, in the site visits I had the opportunity to make, the walls all appeared to be poured-in-place concrete. Piping was installed after the fact, in channels that were cut into the concrete. The walls were then patched, covering the piping.
   Indoor water use is calculated at 135 liters (35 gallons) per person per day.
   Garden irrigation represents between 5- and 10 percent of total residential water use.
   Automatic dishwashers are nonexistent in residences.
   Clothes dryers are not to be found unless part of a combination clothes washer/dryer.
   A bathroom group is called a "toilet" and toilets are called "water closets." Water closets are most often wall-hung with tanks hidden away in the wall. Washdown style is the most common with 3/6 liter dual flush discharge the norm. (Just a note: that would qualify it as an HET).
   Devices to control back-siphonage or cross-connection have only recently been introduced and I saw none installed. Urinals had their water source directly connected to the china or in one instance had the water supply hanging down past the top of the urinal. Water then fell by gravity into the fixture. These same urinals had been filled with ice but they still reeked.
   When WE talk about bathing it most often means filling a receptor (a bath tub) and soaking in it. "Bathing," to the group I was working with, meant taking a medium sized container, say 2- or 3 liters, filling it and pouring the water over your body starting at the head, lathering up and then rinsing off with another 2- or 3 liters. The total water used may be as little as 10 liters (about 2.5 gallons)
   In a striking bit of the dichotomy mentioned earlier, some in the class used the above method (with the container available in each room) while others took typical showers. The showers at the facility we stayed in were very nice, large, clear glass panels, nice tile work, etc. The surprising thing to me was the shower heads probably discharged at least 20 liters (5 gallons) per minute and frankly felt terrific. The water some were saving by bathing was being wasted by others taking showers. 
   By way of explanation I was told the Indian plumbing products industry doesn't make high efficiency showerheads. It gave me an opportunity to say, "Don't use that as an excuse. We are in a global economy and you are not limited by what is made in India. It also gives you the opportunity and responsibility to work with those in the Indian plumbing products industry to develop and market high efficiency plumbing products. Don't leave it to others or it is likely no one will pursue a change."
   I was told that water heating, except in hotels and luxury suites, only occurred six months or so per year. The reason given was that India has a temperate climate to begin with and because much of the water stored at each property is, as stated earlier, in an external tank, typically of a dark color and un-insulated, there is some heat gain from the ambient air and some added amount from the sun. While we may find that arrangement inconvenient, they apparently don't a are content with it.
   Just as with water heating, the heating and cooling of spaces is the exception rather than the rule. That is not to say it doesn't happen but it wasn't designed into the buildings I saw under construction, but I did see a good number of passive solar systems.
   There are two final things to share. First, drain piping from the toilet (bathroom) is separated by blackwater (soil) and graywater (waste) in two distinct and labeled lines. The thinking behind this is to keep human feces away from regular waste and add an extra level of safety. 
   The last item has to do with "Zero Discharge" buildings: I was told that properties over a certain area or new developments called "townships" are required to be "Zero Discharge." That means no connections for storm water or building sewers are provided, or perhaps they don't exist in the first place. If you want to do the development you WILL comply. Everything collected or generated on the property must be reclaimed and recycled on the property. This idea is so basic, so audacious; it still has me shaking my head. What would it take to really accomplish it? I suspect if it were required in the US, the number of agencies involved and the red tape attached thereto would approach that involved in building a nuclear power plant.
   If you do a Google search on "Zero Discharge" you will find that in actuality, by the strictest definition, it probably will never truly be accomplished, but what has been done in certain locations in India is quite impressive and I suspect quite a capital investment.
   Essentially, the only utility connection is that water supply we talked about earlier where a huge underground storage tank is filled. That water is then pumped to each of the 26 towers for typical purposes. The discharge, whether gray or blackwater, is piped in the way we looked at earlier until it gets to the underground onsite waste water treatment plant where it all dumps in together. This plant is similar to any you would see operated by a local sewer district in the U.S. Using the same processes the water is filtered and treated with chlorine, then stored for use in flushing the water closets. Trained operators are onsite 24/7 with regular testing of the effluent. Solids are separated out, pressed into cakes and sold for fertilizer.
   Rainwater is stored for irrigation. Some of the treated effluent and rainwater is injected back into the aquifers where it will eventually become part of the municipal water supply and start the cycle over again.
   I hope the concept is clear. While India may be considered a developing country on some levels, they have a clear vision and the ability to overcome many of the obstacles that would have thwarted developers in the U.S. They are clearly a model for this type of sustainable development. 
   Words cannot express what a an amazing and wonderful experience I had. I made many new Indian friends that I carry in my heart. My dealing with the people in the Indian Plumbing Association has been positive. They have an optimistic view of the future that I have not seen in some time. It was refreshing to work with all of then, as well as, IAPMO-India to bring the GreenPlumbers message to another continent.