EPA
WaterSense
2007 Accomplishments
EPA's WaterSense® Program:
Making Water Efficiency Easy
Dear Colleagues,
After just 18 months in operation, EPA's WaterSense program is making great strides in
encouraging the development of water-efficient products and programs. In 2007,
companies began earning the WaterSense label for more than 150 models of toilets,
faucets, and faucet accessories that use significantly less water, but perform as well
as—or better than—conventional ones. We welcomed more than 500 partners into
the program, and we reached millions of people with important messages promoting
water efficiency. Four irrigation professional certification programs also earned the
WaterSense label in 2007, opening the door for hundreds of certified professionals to
partner with EPA to encourage efficient landscape watering across the country. As we conduct research for sev-
eral new products and program categories, including showerheads, irrigation controllers, and new homes, EPA
looks forward to another successful year of helping preserve water for future generations and the environment.
Benjamin H. Grumbles
EPA Assistant Administrator for Water
A Partnership for Progress
Making water-efficient products the preferred
choice among consumers will help preserve water
supplies for future generations, save money on con-
sumers' utility bills, and protect the environment.
But WaterSense can't do this alone.
In 2007, EPA partnered with
more than 500 manufactur-
ers, retailers, distributors,
local/state governments,
utilities, water districts, trade
associations, nonprofit
groups, certifying organiza-
tions, and certified irrigation
professionals to bring water-efficient products and
practices to market.
Nearly 200 utilities and local governments are promot-
ing WaterSense as a way to increase water efficiency in
their communities. In 2007, EPA launched a "state chal-
Efficiency Makes WaterSense
While our population and the demand for
freshwater resources are increasing, water sup-
ply remains constant. Communities across the
country are facing growing water supply and
infrastructure challenges. WaterSense helps
relieve that burden by helping transform the
market for water-efficient products and prac-
tices. The WaterSense label helps consumers
identify water-efficient
products and pro-
grams that meet EPA's
water efficiency and
performance criteria.
The program also
helps consumers save
money while encour-
aging innovation in
manufacturing.
April 2008
(866) WTR-SENS (987-7367) • www.epa.gov/watersense • watersense@epa.gov
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lenge"to encourage state governments to recruit
utilities for WaterSense and began working with
individual communities such as Denver and Seattle
to introduce the WaterSense label to consumers.
Four programs, all sponsored by the Irrigation
Association (IA), earned the WaterSense label in
2007.The labeling of lA's Certified Irrigation
Designer, Certified Irrigation Contractor, Certified
Golf Irrigation Auditor, and Certified Landscape
Irrigation Auditor programs opened the opportu-
nity for hundreds of irrigation landscape design-
ers, auditors, and installation/maintenance profes-
sionals to partner with WaterSense and demon-
strate their commitment to water efficiency.
In 2007, WaterSense added three categories of
partners to the program (for a full list of current
WaterSense partners, visit ):
• More than 30 manufacturers earned the
WaterSense label on several of their products.
• More than 20 retailers and distributors are
promoting WaterSense labeled products.
"A one-stop source for high-performance,
high-efficiency products, WaterSense will put
efficiency on the map indelibly."
— City of Bozeman, Montana
Certified by
[Certifying Body]
A Label With Integrity
To add integrity to the pro-
gram, EPA established a
process by which third-
party organizations test
and certify that products
meet WaterSense efficiency
and performance criteria.
Licensed certifying bodies, independent of EPA
and the product manufacturers, certify that
products meet specifications, authorize use of
the WaterSense label, and conduct periodic
checks of the product's continued performance
and label use. EPA approved and licensed five
certifying bodies to conduct certification of toi-
lets as well as bathroom faucets and accessories
under the interim certification plan.
• More than 300 irrigation partners have
joined WaterSense to promote Smart
Irrigation Month in July and water-efficient
irrigation systems throughout the year.
To support its partners, EPA created a suite of
promotional resources in 2007 and disseminated
them nationally to create a unified and easily rec-
ognizable public brand. All new partners receive
a tool kit geared towards their specific needs:
promotion, sales, or labeling. EPA also created
WaterSense Irrigation Partners Across the United States
I | 0-5 Partners
I I 6-10 Partners
I I 11 or more Partners
Total Number of U.S. Partners = 446
as of April 1 5, 2008
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dozens of fact sheets, brochures, press release
templates, giveaways, and other materials. In
addition, EPA responded to more than 3,000
partner and consumer calls and queries in 2007
through the WaterSense Helpline.
WaterSense Labeled Products Deliver
Efficiency and Performance
In 2007, WaterSense made great progress in label-
ing products, including residential toilets, bathroom
sink faucets, and faucet accessories. Bathrooms
were a logical starting point for the program
because toilets alone use at least one-third of the
water consumed by American homes.
"As a public entity, we cannot recommend
one product over the other; however, we can
point our customers to WaterSense to help
them make a decision."
- Loudon County Sanitation Authority
Although the current standard is 1.6 gallons,
toilets manufactured before 1994 use
anywhere from 3.5 to 7 gallons of water per
flush. In 2007, WaterSense issued its specifica-
tion for high-efficiency tank-type toilets that
use 1.28 gallons of water per flush or less. One
dozen manufacturer partners now produce
more than 120 toilet models that have earned
the WaterSense label, representing 2 percent of
toilets in the marketplace in 2007. More than
640 billion gallons of water per year, equivalent
to 15 days of flow over Niagara Falls, could be
Bringing the Label Home
In 2007, EPA also conducted research to devel-
op a labeling program for water-efficient new
homes, including landscaping, irrigation,
plumbing fixtures and appliances, and water
heating and distribution. In addition to devel-
oping the technical specifications for new
homes that would be more water-efficient than
those that meet current standards, EPA is work-
ing on a certification plan for inspecting each
home before it qualifies for a label.
saved if all U.S. homes with older, inefficient toi-
lets replaced them with WaterSense labeled
models. Most importantly, WaterSense labeled
models are independently tested and certified
for both efficiency and performance, so con-
sumers know they are getting a high-efficiency
toilet that will perform as well as or better than
conventional models.
In fall 2007, WaterSense
released final specifica-
tions for bathroom sink
faucets and faucet
accessories (such as
aerators). WaterSense
labeled bathroom sink
faucets may use no
more than 1.5 gallons of water per minute and
must pass independent testing and certification
to ensure they meet EPA's criteria for both per-
formance and efficiency.
Faucet accessories, products that can be easily
attached to existing faucets to save water, must
complete the same certification process and meet
the same performance and efficiency criteria to
earn the WaterSense label. In 2007, 30 models of
faucets and faucet accessories earned the label.
Products in the Pipeline
Showering is one of the top uses of residential
water in the United States, representing approxi-
mately 17 percent of indoor water use or more
than 1.2 trillion gallons of water each year. EPA
completed initial technical and market research
forshowerheads in April 2007 and published a
notification of intent to develop a specification for
high-efficiency showerheads in August 2007. EPA
also conducted technical and market research for
urinals, pre-rinse spray valves for restaurants, and
water treatment/softening systems.
WaterSense Fact
If one of every 10 homes in the United States
upgraded to water-efficient fixtures, nationwide
we could save more than 300 billion gallons of
water and nearly $2 billion annually.
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Besides indoor plumbing products, EPA conducted
initial technical and market research and held
stakeholder meetings on a variety of irrigation con-
trol technologies in 2007, including weather-based
controllers, soil moisture sensors, rain sensors, drip
micro irrigation, and sprinkler heads. Weather- or
sensor-based irrigation control technologies use
local weather and landscape conditions to tailor
irrigation schedules to actual conditions on the site
or historical weather data. While these products are
currently available in the marketplace, EPA has
determined that more research is needed before
WaterSense can develop a labeling specification for
these products.
In 2007, EPA also began in-depth technical and
market research on sprinkler heads and drip micro
irrigation, above- or below-ground systems that
deliver water directly to plants' roots. EPA will
continue to study these technologies in 2008.
Getting the Message Out
As a program serving consumers, WaterSense will
only be successful when consumers are familiar
"Having promotional materials available
through WaterSense is convenient and saves
us time and money."
- Butler County, Ohio
with the label and know to look for it when mak-
ing purchases. Toward this end, WaterSense has
undertaken a concerted public outreach cam-
paign, engaging partners and other stakeholders
to promote water efficiency and WaterSense
labeled products.
In 2007, WaterSense earned an estimated $10 mil-
lion worth of media coverage. More than 2,000
articles mentioning or featuring WaterSense
appeared in newspapers, in trade publications, and
online. Coverage ranged from The Wall Street
Journal and The Washington Post to CNN and
National Public Radio. EPA's public service
announcements, designed to increase public
awareness of the need for water efficiency,
appeared in more than 20 publications. Combined,
those efforts made more than 500 million
"impressions" on readers of those publications.
To find products that have earned the
WaterSense label, consumers can visit the
WaterSense Web site, www.epa.gov/watersense,
where EPA launched its labeled products registry
in 2007. The Web site, which receives more than
20,000 hits per month, also includes a list of
WaterSense partners, allowing consumers and
interested parties to easily find WaterSense
partners in their area.
Looking Ahead
In the upcoming years, WaterSense will continue
to fulfill its mission by expanding the program,
including:
• Coordinating outreach efforts among regional
partners.
• Recognizing significant partner achievements
through a formal annual awards program.
• Releasing a draft specification for shower-
heads.
• Moving ahead on specifications for outdoor
products as well as indoor commercial plumb-
ing products.
• Developing best management practices
(BMPs) to help federal facility managers meet
their water conservation goals.
• Launching the WaterSense New Homes program.
EPA looks forward to another successful year of
helping preserve water for future generations
and the environment.
For more information, visit
www.epa.gov/watersense.
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