the first long awaited coin-operated toilet has opened on the streets of New York. But at 14 gallons a flush is this $100,000 technological pod worth the water?

Photo: G. Paul Burnett/The New York Times

14 gallons

* Toilet flush: 1.29 gallons
* Basin auto-cleaning: 1.2 gallons
* Toilet auto-cleaning: 3.85 gallons
* Floor auto-cleaning 7.71 gallons

Total (not including any hand-washing) is 14 gallons give or take.

other limitations of the public flush:

they will initially be open from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.

15-minute period of privacy before the doors pop open — with a warning light and alarm going off when there are only three minutes left. In between is an automatic 90-second self-cleaning process

the floor sensors have both a maximum (currently about 550 pounds) and minimum (45 pounds), or the doors will not close. The minimum is to prevent small children from getting trapped inside. The maximum allowance is a bit of strange choice — as it is generous to allow two, or maybe even three, people inside. (Are they trying to prevent a party?)

Owned and operated by Cemusa, a Spanish advertising conglomerate won the bid to install the toilets who paid the city $1 billion in fees, and another $400 million for promotional advertising for the right to install advertising hosting bus shelters, these public toilets and other street furniture.