Back in the day, there didn’t always exist standards for how much water was used by certain fixtures. Toilets, for example, often used 3-5 gallons of water per flush! But then, in 1994, new standards for water efficiency went into effect. Toilets now had to use no more than 1.6 gallons per flush, much better than before. Go ahead and check your own toilet. If it says “1.6 gpf” somewhere on it, you know it was built after 1994. If it says nothing and seems like it uses a lot of water, there’s a good chance it’s older than that. Around the same time “low flow” toilets started being promoted in certain arid areas. These products, unfortunately, developed a reputation for being less than stellar at their job – there’s even an episode of “King of the Hill” about it. The problem was, they were no performance standards for fixtures that went above and beyond the federally mandated minimum efficiency levels.
In an effort to further improve water efficiency, while making sure that the products performed just as well or better than the old devises, The U.S. EPA launched the WaterSense program in 2006. WaterSense is a voluntary label that manufacturers can apply for, modeled after the popular EnergyStar program for electrical efficiency. The way it works is that the EPA develops specifications for water efficiency and performance through a public process, if a manufacturer believes its product meets those specifications they are eligible for third-party testing to ensure that is the case, and if they pass they can put the WaterSense logo on their products – letting consumers know that that product is both environmentally friendly and will do its intended job well. All sorts of products can qualify, including toilets, showerheads, faucet aerators, urinals, irrigation controllers, commercial kitchen pre-rinse spray valves, and more (for washing machines and dishwashers, water efficiency is was already taken into account for the EnergyStar program, so look for that label instead). They also have a certification program for landscape professionals.
So if you are looking to make some water efficiency upgrades at home, work, or school, or the next time you are in the market for new fixtures in general, be sure to look for the WaterSense logo. If you are a member of a Sustainable Jersey Green Team, check out their action “Upgrade/Retrofit Water Conservation” to walk you through developing and implementing a plan for lowering water use at municipal facilities using WaterSense certified products.