WaterSense is a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) program designed to encourage water efficiency

Water efficiency

Water efficiency can be defined as:# The accomplishment of a function, task, process, or result with the minimal amount of water feasible;# An indicator of the relationship between the amount of water required for a particular purpose and the amount of water used or delivered.Though the two are...

 in the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 through the use of a special label

Label

A label is a piece of paper, polymer, cloth, metal, or other material affixed to a container or article, on which is printed a legend, information concerning the product, addresses, etc. A label may also be printed directly on the container or article....

 on consumer

Consumer

Consumer is a broad label for any individuals or households that use goods generated within the economy. The concept of a consumer occurs in different contexts, so that the usage and significance of the term may vary.-Economics and marketing:...

 products

Product (business)

In general, the product is defined as a "thing produced by labor or effort" or the "result of an act or a process", and stems from the verb produce, from the Latin prōdūce ' lead or bring forth'. Since 1575, the word "product" has referred to anything produced...

. It was launched in June 2006.

Background

WaterSense is a partnership program sponsored by EPA with the goal of protecting the future of the U.S. water supply. By promoting and enhancing the market for water efficient products and services, WaterSense makes every drop count by leveraging relationships with key utility

Public utility

A public utility is an organization that maintains the infrastructure for a public service . Public utilities are subject to forms of public control and regulation ranging from local community-based groups to state-wide government monopolies...

, manufacturer and retail partners across the U.S.

WaterSense is not a regulatory program

Regulation

Regulation is administrative legislation that constitutes or constrains rights and allocates responsibilities. It can be distinguished from primary legislation on the one hand and judge-made law on the other...

, but rather a voluntary program. EPA develops specifications for water efficient products through a public

Public

In public relations and communication science, publics are groups of individuals, and the public is the totality of such groupings. This is a different concept to the sociological concept of the Öffentlichkeit or public sphere. The concept of a public has also been defined in political science,...

 process. If a manufacturer makes a product that meets those specifications, the product is eligible for third-party testing to ensure the stated efficiency and performance criteria have been met. If the product passes the test, the manufacturer is rewarded with the right to put the WaterSense label on that product.

WaterSense makes it easy for consumers to differentiate among products that use less water

Water

Water is a chemical substance with the chemical formula H2O. A water molecule contains one oxygen and two hydrogen atoms connected by covalent bonds. Water is a liquid at ambient conditions, but it often co-exists on Earth with its solid state, ice, and gaseous state . Water also exists in a...

 and reinforces that saving water is easy and does not require a major lifestyle change.

Products

Toilets, bathroom

Bathroom

A bathroom is a room for bathing in containing a bathtub and/or a shower and optionally a toilet, a sink/hand basin/wash basin and possibly also a bidet....

 sink

Sink

A sink is a bowl-shaped plumbing fixture used for washing hands, for dishwashing or other purposes. Sinks generally have taps that supply hot and cold water and may include a spray feature to be used for faster rinsing...

 faucets (and accessories), flushing urinals, single family new homes, showerheads and irrigation

Irrigation

Irrigation may be defined as the science of artificial application of water to the land or soil. It is used to assist in the growing of agricultural crops, maintenance of landscapes, and revegetation of disturbed soils in dry areas and during periods of inadequate rainfall...

 professionals who have undergone training by WaterSense-labeled certification

Certification

Certification refers to the confirmation of certain characteristics of an object, person, or organization. This confirmation is often, but not always, provided by some form of external review, education, assessment, or audit...

 programs are all products/services that are readily available to consumers.

Products that seek the WaterSense label must:

• Achieve national water savings
• Provide measurable results
• Perform as well as or better than similar products in the same category
• Be water-efficient, using at least 20 percent less water than EPA's fixture-specific water use baseline.

Partners

To help get products on shelves and spread the word about WaterSense, EPA recruits partners in several different categories including:

• Utilities, communities, state and local governments
• Manufacturers
• Retailers and distributors
• Organizations that provide qualified certification programs
• Certified professionals
• Non-profit organizations and trade associations.

Partner responsibilities include:

• Promoting WaterSense as well as water efficiency
• Adhering to WaterSense partner logo guidelines
• Providing annual data
• Granting EPA rights to use partner name on the Agency website or alongside other program promotional efforts.

WaterSense also utilizes promotional partners who endorse and publicize the program among their constituents. Promotional partners include utilities, state and local governments

Local government in the United States

Local government in the United States is generally structured in accordance with the laws of the various individual states. Typically each state has at least two separate tiers: counties and municipalities. Some states have their counties divided into townships...

, trade associations, and other non-governmental organizations. Landscape irrigation professionals who are certified by WaterSense-labeled certification programs can also become partners.

Specifications

EPA’s first specification, released in January 2007, was written for WaterSense-labeled toilets. To date, final specifications have also been written for bathroom sink faucets, flushing urinals, new single family homes, showerheads and certification programs for irrigation professionals.

The Agency issued revised draft specifications for landscape irrigation controllers in January 2011.

Specifications for pre-rinse spray valves and water softeners are under development as of 2011.

Awards

In 2008, the EPA initiated its WaterSense Partners of the Year award, designed to recognize organizations and individuals who did the most in the previous year to promote water efficiency and saving water. The awards have four categories: promotional partner of the year; manufacturer partner of the year; retailer and distributor partner of the year; and, irrigation partner of the year. In 2010, the awards were expanded to include Excellence Awards, which recognize additional organizations and individuals whose WaterSense support stood out in one or more of the evaluation categories.

WaterSense Partners of the Year:

• Cobb County Water System, 2011
• Delta Faucet Company, 2011
• The Home Depot, 2011
• Christopher Curry, 2011
• KB Home, 2011
• Energy Inspectors Corporation, 2011
• Cascade Water Alliance, King County, Washington, 2010
• Moen Incorporated, 2010
• Lowe's Companies, Inc., 2010
• Judy Benson, 2010
• Cobb County Water System, 2009
• James City Service Authority, 2009
• Kohler Co., 2009
• Lowe's Companies, Inc., 2009
• Brian Vinchesi, 2009
• U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2008

WaterSense Excellence Awards:

• American Water, 2011
• Public Service Commission of Wisconsin, 2011
• Lowe's Companies, Inc., 2011
• City of Dallas Water Utilities, 2011
• Kohler Co., 2011
• Moen Incorporated, 2011
• Niagara Conservation Corp., 2011
• Albuquerque-Bernalillo County Water Utility Authority, 2010
• Kohler Co., 2010
• Robert Dobson, 2010
• Drains Plus, Inc., 2010
• Caroma, 2010
• Bryan Condray, 2010