Men’s restrooms at DeKalb County facilities may no longer echo with the “whoosh” of flushed urinals.

Ken Campbell, DeKalb County facilities manager, said he is testing a no-flush waterless urinal that he estimates could save the county 17,280 gallons of water per urinal per year.

If accurate, Campbell’s estimation means one urinal could save the county about $45 in water bills per year, said Bryan Faivre, assistant director of public works for the water resources division.

Michael Zima, DeKalb Sanitary District manager, said one urinal could save the county almost $37 in sewage bills per year.

Campbell said one bonus is the waterless urinal’s environmental conservation value.

“Water, next to oil, is going to be the next big thing [as a limited resource],” he said.

Campbell said he discovered the waterless urinals at a trade show and researched the product for a year and a half before purchasing one.

The waterless urinal, manufactured by Franklin Park-based Sloan Valve Company, has no flushing mechanism.

Maintenance employees have installed one of the $440 urinals down the hall from Campbell’s office in the lower level of the DeKalb County Public Safety Building, 150 N. Main St., Sycamore.

In place of a drain, the waterless urinal contains a $35 cartridge that would be replaced about every six months. A liquid sealant in the cartridge allows urine to pass through to a pipe but traps corrosive uric sediments that might eat away pipes. The sealant is designed to not allow odor to escape.

Campbell said he has not noticed any odor in several days of testing the sealant’s effectiveness. Campbell said he may replace about 20 urinals in five county buildings.

The waterless urinals, with nothing to clog, also could save maintenance time, he said.

John Dykes, maintenance III employee, said he will not miss unplugging clogged urinals.

“If you’ve ever had to unplug a urinal, you know it’s no fun,” he said.

Dykes also said the handles on each flushing urinal require fixing several times each year.

Campbell has a proven track record with his ideas. Switching to 30 percent recycled paper in county offices was environmentally friendly and saved $1,875 in 2003.

For his paper switch, Campbell was awarded a People Responsible for Improving DeKalb’s Environment award in February 2004.