Water Efficiency

Approved March 2011, Reaffirmed August 2017

The undersigned companies, organizations, and public agencies reaffirm our support for maintaining national standards for the water use efficiency of new plumbing products, as provided by current Federal law. From diverse perspectives, we each have come to support this approach to reducing the costs of providing safe drinking water, treating municipal wastewater, and protecting our rivers, lakes, estuaries, and wetlands.

The drought now affecting several portions of the United States serves to underscore the need to make more efficient use of our water supplies. Even where water is not scarce, efficient plumbing products help consumers and communities hold down the rising costs of additional water supply and wastewater treatment infrastructure. Saving water also reduces the energy required to pump, heat, and treat water throughout the nation.

With over half of all indoor residential water use taking place in the bathroom, improved water efficiency in new toilets is central to most water conservation efforts. Several different technologies are employed in the latest generation of water-efficient toilets on the market today. Numerous reports have shown that the great majority of homeowners who have been surveyed are satisfied with the performance of these new toilets. Leading national consumer publications have highlighted many brands and models that meet their performance tests, and utilities that promote the installation of water-efficient toilets have received few complaints.

The rigors of the marketplace will drive even further improvements in the performance of plumbing products. However, the regulatory stability provided by current Federal law is very important to the U.S. plumbing industry. It allows businesses to bring improved products to a national market, rather than spend time and money designing products for differing flush volumes, flow rates, test procedures, certification requirements, and labeling rules, all of which could vary by state and local jurisdiction if Federal standards were repealed. Economies of scale -- an important factor in keeping costs to consumers low -- could be lost if this national market were to become fragmented.

Our message is straightforward: efficient plumbing products work, and efficient water use is an important national concern.

American Supply Association

American Water Works Association

Association of Metropolitan Water Agencies

California Urban Water Conservation Council

Natural Resources Defense Council

Plumbing Manufacturers Institute

and many others . . . .