 Fix a Leak, Save Some Green
How long have you been ignoring that pitter patter coming from
the shower? How about the leaky spigot on the side of the house,
or that running toilet? You might as well be pouring money down
the drain! Fixing easily corrected household water leaks like these
can save homeowners more than 10 percent on their water bills—and
a precious natural resource.
March 16 to 20, 2009, marks the WaterSense program's first "Fix
a Leak Week," a time to remind Americans to attack leaks in
their household fixtures and irrigation systems. While leaks might
sometimes seem like small problems, over time they waste both valuable
water resources and money. On average, a U.S. household wastes more
than 11,000 gallons of water per year—enough to fill a backyard
swimming pool!
Common types of leaks found in the home are leaking toilet flappers,
dripping faucets, and other leaking valves. These types of leaks
are easily correctable, in many cases requiring only a few tools
and hardware, such as a wrench and drops of food coloring, which
will easily pay for themselves in water savings. If you discover
a significant leak that merits the replacement of an older toilet
or bathroom sink faucet, consider a new WaterSense labeled product
that will not only put an end to your leak, but also increase water
efficiency. For instance, WaterSense labeled faucets use 30 percent
less water without a noticeable difference in flow.
While some leaks are obvious, others are more difficult to detect.
To be sure that your household is leak-free, check your water meter
before and after a two-hour period when no water is being used.
If the meter does not read exactly the same, you probably have a
leak—and an opportunity to save water and some extra cash.
Learn more tips and information about Fix
a Leak Week.
Add a Splash of
WaterSense:
Download the Widget
Bring a splash of water savings know-how to your Web site
with the WaterSense widget!
The WaterSense widget is an application that displays water-efficiency
content directly on your Web page and provides a link to the
WaterSense Web site.
Once you have added the widget to your Web page, there is
no technical maintenance. WaterSense will update the content
automatically, displaying a new tip on water efficiency regularly.
There are three variations of the widget that are available
for use, such as the one pictured at right.
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Raising the Roof on Water Efficiency:
New Homes Pilot Makes Headway
The first home built to the WaterSense draft specification
for new homes has opened its doors. Compared with a traditional
new home, it's expected to conserve 10,000 gallons of water
per year, or be at least 20 percent more water efficient.
The 2,532-square-foot concept home in Chapel Hill, North
Carolina, is the handiwork of Vanguard
Homes  ,
one of seven builders participating in the WaterSense
New Homes pilot program. The pilot began in August 2008,
and, once completed in 2009, it will inform EPA's process
for home inspection and certification. (The Vanguard home
has been certified to the draft
specification.)
"Through the WaterSense New Homes pilot program, we
can lay a strong foundation for environmental progress,"
said former EPA Administrator Stephen L. Johnson at a ribbon-cutting
ceremony at the concept home in November. "As the program
encourages installation of products that save water and money,
homeowners are realizing first-hand the benefits of efficient
water use."
Besides WaterSense labeled toilets and bathroom sink faucets,
the new house includes high-efficiency showerheads and ENERGY
STAR qualified appliances. It is plumbed with insulated hot
water lines to prevent hot water from cooling in the pipes,
a recirculating hot water system to cut down on time needed
for tap water to warm, and water-efficient landscaping. |
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| On Super Sunday, February
1, if every viewer watching the big game flushed
at halftime, it would use about 300 million gallons
in near sync. WaterSense labeled toilets would require
only about one-third of that amount, saving enough
water for at least four minutes' flow over Niagara
Falls. Score big water savings when you replace
a plumbing fixture: look
for the WaterSense label. |
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 Partner
Profile: Kohler Co.
The WaterSense Current periodically profiles outstanding WaterSense partners and their achievements in advancing water efficiency and water-efficient products and practices.
Kohler Co. has been supporting WaterSense since before the program
had a name, so perhaps it's no surprise the forward-thinking kitchen
and bath manufacturer was named one of the program’s first
WaterSense Partners of the Year
in 2008.
"We're very proud to have won this award and want as many
people to know as possible," says Rob Zimmerman, senior staff
engineer of Kohler water conservation initiatives. To wit: the day
EPA announced the award winners last October, Kohler spread the
announcement on one of the JumboTrons in Times Square, New York
City. And why not shout the news from the rooftop? From helping
sponsor the Grand
Canyon Adventure: River at Risk
IMAX film to sponsoring posh, portable water-efficient restrooms
in Times Square, the company has been awash in water efficiency.
"We as citizens need to do more to eliminate the waste of
water," says Zimmerman. Plumbing products are a logical place
to do that, especially "when you can do it without a sacrifice
in user experience or product performance," he explains.
Kohler has been making efficient plumbing fixtures since the late
1980s with the introduction of the first generation of low-flow
toilets. Technology has advanced considerably since those days,
and Kohler now has four types of high-efficiency flushing mechanisms
that meet EPA's WaterSense criteria: regular gravity-flush toilets,
as well as dual-flush, pressure-assisted, and power-assisted types.
Zimmerman credits the WaterSense program for helping to bring
focus and order to the evolution of water-efficient plumbing fixtures.
"It gave us a target to hit in our new product development
process," he says.
WaterSense has also helped Kohler to "cast a wider net,"
adds Zimmerman, enabling the company to broadcast the water-efficiency
story to a wider audience, whether on the trade show circuit by
embroidering company shirts with the WaterSense Partner of the Year
logo or with the help of the company's spokesperson Ed Del Grande,
better known as Ed the Plumber on the DIY Network.
What's next for Kohler in the water-efficiency arena? Zimmerman
will only hint, "We have big plans for 2009."
Learn more about Kohler .
 Making
Savings a Fixture
At least one company is making water efficiency the standard—none
other than American
Standard .
American Standard has earned the WaterSense label for not just a
few models, but its entire line of bathroom sink faucets.
Jeannette Long, director of marketing communications at American
Standard, explains that the company is trying to make consumers'
lives easier: "We like to simplify the [faucet] selection process
for end users. The WaterSense label provides the end user assurance
that any American Standard faucet meets water-efficiency requirements
and performs well."
 Products in the Pipeline: Showerheads
Since the WaterSense Current last covered plans for a showerhead specification in fall 2007, EPA has been working to develop criteria for highly effective, high-efficiency showerheads.
Creating a draft showerhead specification is no easy task. To
earn the WaterSense label, a product must not only save water, but
also perform as well as or better than conventional products on
the market, and showerheads will be no exception. Unlike toilets
and faucets, however, there are currently no universally agreed
upon testing protocols for showerhead performance or definition
for "user satisfaction." In other words, how do you define
a good shower? That's the tricky part.
Since the characteristics of a water-efficient, high-performance
showerhead are largely undefined, WaterSense has been collaborating
with industry and water-efficiency experts through the American
Society of Mechanical Engineers Joint Harmonization Task Force to
create a definition. This work includes developing performance protocols
that are reproducible and repeatable and can be tested in an independent
laboratory, then correlating these performance protocols to actual
consumer satisfaction. WaterSense is also carefully considering
any health and safety issues.
Once the specification is finalized, showerheads will round out
the suite of WaterSense labeled residential bathroom plumbing fixtures.
It's been a long road, but the time, effort, and research involved
with the development of this specification enforces the fact that
WaterSense is dedicated to ensuring that any fixture that bears
the label will help save water and still have people singing in
the shower.
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