What is EPA WaterSense?
EPA WaterSense is a voluntary US Environmental Protection Agency program that labels water-efficient products, new homes and programs meeting EPA criteria for efficiency and performance.
Who uses WaterSense
Manufacturers, retailers, homebuilders, irrigation professionals and utilities partner with the program. Commercial and institutional facilities use labeled fixtures and the WaterSense at Work best practices. Those facilities account for 17 percent of US public-supply water, per EPA WaterSense.
Key figures from EPA
- Labeled products are certified to use at least 20 percent less water and perform as well as or better than regular models.
- The program launched June 12, 2006, at the AWWA annual conference in San Antonio.
- EPA reports cumulative savings of 11.2 trillion gallons of water through the end of 2025.
- Leaks can account for more than 6 percent of a facility's water use, which no fixture label prevents.
Proving a fixture retrofit worked
A labeled fixture saves water only if the fixture is why use falls. Aqueduct normalizes water use per visitor and per square foot and sets a weather-normalized expected baseline before the retrofit, so the drop on each floor afterward is separated from changes in occupancy or season.