Retrofits
Reaffirmed August 2017
Support Retrofitting with Water-Efficient Plumbing Products to Save Trillions of Gallons of Water
- Nationwide, we lose 1.7 trillion gallons of water each year, which the U.S. Geological Survey estimates is the equivalent to 16% of treated water never reaching the tap. This is the direct result of an aging and deteriorating system of pipes and plants that comprise our nation's water infrastructure.
- While there is an urgent need to address rampant water leakage resulting from our aging infrastructure, by simply replacing old, water-intensive plumbing fixtures and installing water-efficient plumbing fixtures, we can reduce water usage by billions of gallons a day.
- EPA conservatively estimates that 3 billion gallons of water per day in water savings would be achieved – about 7% of total publicly supplied water – by retrofitting pre-1992 toilets, showerheads, faucets, and urinals in residences and buildings with products meeting the current law, as well as WaterSense® labeled products.
- WaterSense® labeled plumbing products are 20% more water-efficient than products meeting the current federal law, and have been independently tested and certified to meet efficiency and performance standards.
- WaterSense® products are easily found at home improvement stores, as well as showrooms across the country, and are available in a wide variety of price points and broad range of styles.
- In the face of continued ratcheting down of flow rates and the recognized need for updating infrastructure, retrofits/replacement of legacy products is a painless intermediary step to instantly maximize water efficiency.
- Water efficient plumbing products help consumers and communities reduce the strain on our aging infrastructure. Let’s Chase Gallons, Not Drops!