Every   Drop
                                                   Counts
                               832F06014

                                    EBi   ^•R™
                                    WaterSense
   The Value of Water Efficiency

   In the United States, our growing population is put-
   ting stress on our available water supplies, and water
   resource protection has become a national priority.
   Using water more efficiently helps preserve water
   supplies for future generations, saves money, and
   reduces stress on water systems and the environment.
   Governments, utilities, manufacturers, businesses,
   communities, and individual consumers across the
   country can help protect our limited water resources
   by purchasing water-efficient products and adopting
   water-efficient practices.

   WaterSenseSM, a U.S. Environmental Protection  Agency
   (EPA) voluntary partnership program, seeks to  pro-
   mote water efficiency and enhance the market for
   water-efficient products and services. Fundamentally,
   the goal of WaterSense is to decrease indoor and
   outdoor non-agricultural water use through high-
   efficiency products and simple practices. The program
   helps consumers identify water-efficient products in
   the marketplace, while ensuring product performance
   and encouraging innovation in manufacturing.

   How  the Program Works

   WaterSense is building the national
   brand for water efficiency, a symbol
   that represents the importance of
   protecting water resources in the
   United States. Independent, third-
   party agencies will certify that products
   meet EPA criteria for water efficiency and perform-
   ance by following testing and verification protocols
   specific to each product category. Products that are
   certified to meet EPA specifications are allowed to
   bear the WaterSense label.
EPA has developed specifications for professional
landscape irrigation certification programs and high-
efficiency toilets (HETs) that use less than 1.3 gallons
per flush. In the future, EPA will evaluate more
opportunities, ranging from additional irrigation
products and additional residential plumbing fixtures
to indoor commercial products. EPA will also reach
out to home builders, schools, and others to promote
water efficiency. Product labeling, together with
broad education/outreach campaigns and partner-
ships with key stakeholders, will help transform the
marketplace by encouraging consumers and organi-
zations to purchase water-efficient products.

Program Partnerships

In addition to developing product specifications, EPA
provides technical information and recognizes leader-
ship in water efficiency through formal partnership
agreements with program partners. Manufacturers
committed to water efficiency and product innovation
can differentiate their products from others in the
marketplace, build consumer demand, and gain
national recognition for their high-efficiency, high-
performance products. Utilities, non-profit organiza-
tions, and state and local governments will help pro-
mote the WaterSense program through public aware-
ness campaigns to attain local water conservation
goals. Retailers and distributors will stock and pro-
mote WaterSense labeled products.

EPA will work continuously to build brand awareness
across a wide range of industrial, commercial, and
consumer sectors through extensive outreach and
education initiatives. Through this national program,
WaterSense hopes to make water-efficient products
and practices commonplace.
Recycled/Recyclable—Printed with Vegetable Oil Based Inks on 100% Process Chlorine Free Recycled Paper.
                                       October 2006
                                    EPA-832-F-06-014

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