The Low Down On Green Living
May 24th, 2008
WaterSense: The New Symbol of Water Conservation
Stumble it!
Written by Joel Bittle, courtesy of GreenBuildingElements.com
Get to know this symbol because chances are it’s going to be as ubiquitous as the blue star of EPA’s other conservation program, ENERGY STAR. Launched in 2006 the EPA’s WaterSense program seeks “to enhance the market for water-efficient products and services by building a national brand for water efficiency.” Viewed mainly as a program for water-only products like toilets, faucets, and irrigation systems, WaterSense does not include appliances, like dishwashers or clothes washers, that use both water and energy - those remain under the ENERGY STAR program. In 2007, the EPA released WaterSense specifications for high efficiency toilets and high efficiency bathroom sink faucets. They also offer certification programs for several irrigation professionals, include golf course irrigation auditors. Specifications for showerheads are in the works.
WaterSense is about to become very popular in the green building community. In their proposed changes to the LEED programs, the US Green Building Council removed some specifications for water saving credits, replacing them with, “WaterSense-certified fixtures and fixture fittings should be used where available.” It’s much easier to check for the WaterSense label than it is to gather the specifications for every fixture.
WaterSense labeled bathroom faucets, at a maximum of 1.5 gallons per minute, reduce water consumption by at least 30%. WaterSense labeled high efficiency toilets, with a maximum of 1.28 gallons per flush, use at least 20% less water than standard 1.6 gallons per flush toilets. The EPA has claimed that if every home in the US switched to WaterSense labeled fixtures, we would save 60 billion gallons of water a year.
Though some companies were already offering fixtures compliant with the WaterSense standards, they are only recently getting literature out to the public about their WaterSense labeled fixtures. Expect to see it popping up everywhere.
Click here to find water-saving fixtures and technologies for your home.
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Comments
Mr. Sustainable
May 26th, 2008 at 4:35 am
Some within the environmental community perceive water issues as boring or unworthy of a global effort. The opposite is true. Maintaining a reliable supply of potable water affects nearly all spheres of environmentalism, including energy production. WaterSense standards are very important. I wish my neighbors in Central Florida utilized irrigation equipment designed to those standards.
Blue Planet Run Foundation
June 30th, 2008 at 12:47 am
One in six people do not have access to clean drinking water
Water borne diseases are the leading cause of human sickness and death
The average person in the developing world uses 2.64 gallons of water a day while the average person in the US uses 100-175.
Help end the global water crisis!
Visit blueplanetrun.org
Mike
October 2nd, 2008 at 5:48 pm
There’s so many ways to save water in the home. I use milk jugs, filled with water and placed in my toilet tank, to offset a few gallons of water each flush. It works great! And I purchased a few low-flow showerheads and aerators here: http://eartheasy.com/shop/water_save.htm and notice no difference in quality of shower. It’s even slightly better than my old one.
Anyways, we all have to start trying harder!!
Gary Shifren
January 21st, 2009 at 6:10 pm
Can I use the “New Symbol of water sense” logo on marketing material for products that conserve water?
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