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EPA
WaterSense
2008 Accomplishments
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) launched WaterSense® in 2006 to promote water
efficiency among consumers and organizations nationwide. Why water efficiency? The answer is
easy: It reduces stress on water supplies and helps municipalities avoid costs for new infrastructure.
Water efficiency also helps consumers save both water and money, encourages innovation in man-
ufacturing and private investment in water efficiency, and trims energy costs for both households
and utilities by reducing the amount of energy required to pump, treat, deliver, and heat water. In
2008, EPA and its partners worked together to help save water for future generations and transform
the market for water-efficient products and services. Following are the results of those efforts.
A Label for Savings
The WaterSense label is a
symbol for consumers that
a product will save water
and perform well, because
it's backed by third-party
testing and independent
certification to ensure the
product meets EPA's criteria
for efficiency and performance. Residential toilets,
bathroom sink faucets, and faucet accessories were
the first products to bear the WaterSense label
beginning in 2007.
As of December 2008, the WaterSense program
included:
• 300+ WaterSense labeled toilet models
• 800+ WaterSense labeled faucet and faucet
accessory models
WaterSense leverages manufacturer and retail
investments to help water-efficient products gain
a firm foothold in the marketplace. The total water
savings from all WaterSense labeled products
shipped in 2008 topped more than 9.3 billion gal-
lons—a considerable increase from the estimated
277 million gallons associated with WaterSense
labeled toilets shipped in 2007.
In 2008, WaterSense labeled toilets garnered a
significant 8.8 percent market share of all toilets
shipped in the United States, up from 2 percent the
year before. The level of investment from private-
sector manufacturers, retailers, and distributors
has continued to grow exponentially. Faucets and
faucet accessories (such as aerators) began bear-
ing the WaterSense label in 2008 and earned an
impressive 11.7 percent and 24.6 percent market
share, respectively, as reported by WaterSense
partners.
Savings From WaterSense Labeled Products in 2008
Water Saved
2.19 billion gallons
Faucets and Faucet Accessories 7.19 billion gallons
Electricity Saved
7 million kWh
1 billion kWh
GHG Emissions Avoided
5,000 metric tons
700,000 metric tons
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Saving water is only part of the equation, however,
because reducing water use also reduces energy
consumption. WaterSense labeled faucets saved
U.S. households nearly 1 billion kilowatt hours
(kWh) of electricity and utilities saved an additional
25 million kWh of electricity that otherwise would
have been needed to pump and treat that water.
This helped to avoid the production of nearly
700,000 metric tons of greenhouse gas (GHG)
emissions.
If 1 percent of American homes replaced
older toilets with WaterSense labeled models,
we would save enough electricity to power
more than 40,000 homes for a month.
How Does WaterSense Add Value?
In addition to saving water for future generations,
WaterSense labeled products helped consumers
realize more than $55 million in savings on their
water and sewer bills in 2008. As a public-private
partnership, WaterSense:
• Makes it easy for consumers to find and identify
high-performance, water-efficient products.
• Provides brand credibility through third-party
certification and brand monitoring.
• Encourages innovation in manufacturing.
• Assists EPA in achieving its strategic goals and
supports sustainable infrastructure.
• Helps water utilities reduce their operating costs
as well as future infrastructure costs by avoiding
capacity expansion necessary for population
growth.
• Leverages resources by providing consistent
branding of water-efficient products.
Partner Collaboration
WaterSense's industry, government, and nongovern-
ment partners are critical to achieving and measur-
ing water savings. These partnerships provide access
to consumers and assistance in educating the public
about the WaterSense brand. Participation doubled
in 2008 to more than 1,000 WaterSense partners
and will quickly expand during the next year as
WaterSense releases the final specifications for new
homes and urinals, opening enrollment for builders
and commercial product manufacturers.
As of December 2008, the WaterSense program
included:
• More than 1,000 partners committed to advanc-
ing the WaterSense mission.
- Promotional: 356
- Retail/distributor: 83
- Manufacturer: 69
- Irrigation: 561
- Certifying organization: 4
• More than 80 million consumers served by
WaterSense utility partners.
"Having promotional materials available
through WaterSense is convenient and saves
us time and money."
—Butler County, Ohio
WaterSense partners use the tools they receive from
EPA to enhance water-efficiency efforts within their
communities. For example, in 2008, EPA helped
WaterSense partners promote a sales tax holiday for
WaterSense labeled products in Atlanta, Georgia.
The effort attracted dozens of print and broadcast
media hits, helping to raise awareness of Water-
Sense labeled products among consumers in the
Atlanta metro area. Nationwide, residents can now
find WaterSense labeled toilets and bathroom sink
faucets in major retail outlets, such as The Home De-
pot and Lowe's, as well as in distributor showrooms.
Big or small, rebate programs stand to benefit from
bringing WaterSense into the fold. Take, for exam-
ple, rebates run by the Cobb County Water System
in Georgia and the City of Bozeman, Montana.
By offering a multi-tiered rebate program with
higher rebates for WaterSense labeled toilets, Cobb
County created an incentive for retailers to stock
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up on WaterSense labeled products
in the first year of the program. The
entire rebate program is saving the
county an estimated 16.2 million
gallons of water per year and eas-
ing the strain on municipal water
supplies. In Bozeman, the Greater
Gallatin Toilet Tradeout resulted in
875 WaterSense labeled toilets sold
at a special discounted rate dur-
ing the six-week event. All told, the
event saved an estimated 4.9 million
gallons of water annually.
When Every DfOp Counts,
we Count on our Partners.
WaterSense
'line U.!\ fcnvironnK-ntal I'rorection Agency is pleased to
honoi our finl-cwr WaterSense1" Partners of the Year in the
lulbwirHf c
Manufacturer: Knhler Co.
Retailer/Distributor: Ferguson
Irrigation Partner: Timolhy Malooly
Promotional Partner: The Saving Water Partnership
V;>rlh- ;ini) 17 P.irtiripahnt] I IKM! Water
Uililics
WaterSense and Us partners are working to protect waUT snpplk'S lor ruturc generations by offering simple
wjys lo i
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Surveys show that in today's economic climate,
green homes are 40 percent easier to market. Water-
Sense labeled new homes will be 20 percent more
water-efficient and will also save energy, making
them increasingly attractive to homebuyers.
If one of every 10 homes in the United States
upgraded to water-efficient plumbing fixtures
and appliances, nationwide we could save
more than 300 billion gallons of water and
nearly $2 billion annually.
Looking Ahead
WaterSense is working toward releasing draft and
final specifications for several new product areas
in 2009, including:
• Showerheads
• Urinals
• Irrigation controllers
As final specifications for new product categories
are released, WaterSense will work with our growing
number of partners to raise consumer awareness of
WaterSense labeled products. EPA continues to con-
duct market research and analyze other prod-
uct categories for potential water savings
and specification development. Close
to 20 product categories have
been evaluated as potential
WaterSense labeled products,
including pre-rinse spray valves,
valve-type (commercial) toilets,
steam sterilizers, water softening systems, and drip
irrigation systems.
In the coming months, WaterSense will evaluate
options for expanding to include a new com-
mercial program. Providing for commercial sector
participation will help increase the demand for
WaterSense labeled products, result in more op-
portunities for partnerships, raise visibility of the
program, encourage private investment, and yield
significant water savings. WaterSense will utilize the
same stakeholder dialogue and research tech-
niques that have led to successful engagement in
other partner and product categories.
EPA thanks its partners and looks forward to an-
other successful year of helping preserve water for
future generations and the environment. For more
information, visit www.epa.gov/watersense.
WaterSense in the News
WaterSense's public service announcements and media outreach efforts have resulted in more than
1.1 billion impressions with a corresponding advertising value totaling more than $15 million. Major
media hits include CNN, Good Morning America, The Today Show, National Public Radio, Martha Stew-
art Living Radio, National Geographic, Newsweek, O: The Oprah Magazine, and The New York Times.
n p r
MM ISM
MARTHA STEWART LIVING RADIO
HOW TO STOP BEING A DRIP
July 2009
(866) WTR-SENS (987-7367) • www.epa.gov/watersense • watersense@epa.gov
Recycled/Recyclable—Printed with Vegetable Oil Based Inks on 100% Process Chlorine Free Recycled Paper.
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