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Creators of Innovative Water-Efficient Toilet Achieve National Recognition
Ontario Family of Inventors Feel the Flush of Success
Calgary, AB (September 12, 2008) - Nephew-and-uncle-team Philip and Arnold Hennessy have been recognized with a $10,000 Manning Innovation Award, sponsored by KatchKan™ Ltd., for inventing and developing the Flapperless, Tip-Bucket Toilet. The low-flow and leak-proof toilet is engineered for ultimate water-efficiency, but does not require any lifestyle changes on the part of the user.

On the outside, a Flapperless looks like any other toilet, but instead of draining the tank through a flappered outlet, a bucket of water inside the tank tips to make the toilet flush. A leaky toilet can waste as much as 200,000 litres of water a year, reports Environment Canada. By getting rid of the flapper, says Arnold Hennessy, the flush valve cannot leak.

In 2005, the United Nations Water for Life campaign in Canada recognized the Flapperless toilet as an innovative water-conservation solution. The presentation of this award led to a national public service announcement by Global TV. Intent on improvement, in 2007, Flapperless Inc. put three new toilets on the market that use only 4.8 litres of water per flush. The typical residential low-flow toilet uses 6 litres.

As Canadians are slowly realizing, “our most precious resource is water,” says Philip Hennessy. He and uncle, Arnold Hennessy, who came up with the initial tip-bucket design, are pleased to see their innovation becoming a standard fixture in the growing number of Canadian communities committed to water conservation. The toilets are eligible for low-flow toilet rebate programs from coast to coast, including the City of Calgary and Town of Canmore in Alberta, and several municipalities in Ontario.

Over 1 million Flapperless toilets have been sold in Canada and the United States. The toilets are also marketed in Mexico, the Middle East and China.

The Ernest C. Manning Awards Foundation
This year the Foundation will award $165,000 in prize money. Four awards, totalling $145,000, will go to leading Canadian innovators. Another $20,000 will go to Young Canadians chosen at the 2008 Canada-Wide Science Fair.

The Foundation was established in 1980 in the name of prominent Alberta statesman, Ernest C. Manning, to promote and support Canadian innovators. Since 1982, the Foundation has presented over $3.9 million in prize money through its annual awards program. The 2008 awards will be presented at an awards gala on Friday, October 3 in Halifax, Nova Scotia.