WaterSense: Making Every Drop CountWaterSense. It’s a new U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) program to promote and enhance water-efficient products and services. The City of Fort Collins became a WaterSense Partner to help our customers conserve water for future generations and reduce costs on their water bills. The aim of the program is to decrease indoor and outdoor water use through high-efficiency products and simple water-saving practices. By setting performance and water use specifications, WaterSense helps consumers identify products that work well and save water. WaterSense products must:
Toilets were the first products to be certified with the WaterSense label. Under federal law, toilets must not exceed 1.6 gallons per flush (gpf), but WaterSense labeled toilets use just 1.28 gpf or less. To date, over 500 toilet models carry the label by being independently tested to ensure they meet rigorous criteria for both performance and efficiency. Check out the City’s free toilet recycling program when you replace a toilet. Bathroom sink faucet aerators have recently begun to be labeled and showerheads are next. If you need help with your landscape, WaterSense is partnering with irrigation professionals and irrigation certification programs to promote water-efficient landscape irrigation practices. In the future, WaterSense plans to label high-efficiency sprinkler system control technologies that tailor watering schedules to match site conditions and the water requirement of plants. As WaterSense labeled products become more available in the marketplace, it will be easier for you to identify and select a variety of quality, high-efficiency products and services. Ask for WaterSense labeled products at your favorite retailers. If they are not available, encourage them to carry these products. Find out more about the WaterSense program or see a list of labeled products at www.epa.gov/watersense. |