The administration is replacing the second and third floor urinals. Photo by Sarah Klotz.

There won’t be anymore standing around to see if the toilet will flush. The administration is replacing the 16-year-old second and third floor urinals, after years of faulty operation.

“The old urinals that were there didn’t function properly,” said business manager Eddy Campbell. “A person would have to stand there and flush it four or five times. With the new style, you only have to flush it once.”

While MCPS plumbers fixed the piping, it was the flushing mechanism that was causing the problems, so new urinals were necessary, he said.

IT systems specialist Greg Thomas feels that the money for the urinals could be better spent elsewhere

“I can’t imagine routinely replacing all of the urinals in several bathrooms,” he said. “There are not too many things that can go wrong with them.”

Thomas is skeptical about why MCPS is choosing to replace the entire urinal, rather than just the piping.

“If the old ones weren’t flushing well, you need to put a snake in it,” he said.

While Thomas sees alternative options, there are numerous problems that can only be solved by replacing the ceramic bowl itself, according to a representative from the Cropp Metcalf Plumbing Division.

Campbell also disregarded Thomas’ comments.

“I don’t see why anyone would have a problem with replacing urinals.”