
	Water

Water Headlines for January 25, 2007

Benjamin H. Grumbles
Assistant Administrator
Office of Water

Water Headlines is a weekly on-line publication that announces publications, policies, and activities of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Office of Water.

In This Week’s Water Headlines:

High Efficiency Toilets get WaterSense Nod
President Orders Agencies to Conserve Water
Watershed Tool of the Month:
Introducing NHDPlus - A Geospatial Surface Water Framework
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High Efficiency Toilets get WaterSense Nod

The Environmental Protection Agency is releasing a final specification for the latest generation of water-saving, high-efficiency toilets. Those that use less than 1.3 gallons per flush and meet performance standards for quality will qualify for EPA's WaterSense label to help consumers make informed buying decisions about water-efficient products.

"The WaterSense label will help consumers identify high performing, water efficient products," said EPA Assistant Administrator for Water, Benjamin H. Grumbles. "By purchasing WaterSense labeled plumbing fixtures, consumers can help protect the water supply and their wallets."

The new toilets are the product of extensive research in fluid dynamics conducted over the last six years. While the exterior differs little from traditional toilets, interior redesign and new mechanical approaches significantly improve flow and reduce water usage.

During the development of its WaterSense program, EPA analysis determined that toilets represented a significant target for its water-efficiency activities. Toilet usage accounts for nearly one-third of home water consumption.

It is estimated that high-efficiency toilets can reduce water bills by about 10 percent. Replacing older, inefficient toilets, which are responsible for much of the water wasted in American homes, could save more than 900 billion gallons of water a year - enough to supply almost 10 million households.

WaterSense-labeled toilets are certified by independent laboratory testing to meet rigorous criteria for both performance and efficiency. Only high-efficiency toilets that complete the third-party certification process can earn the WaterSense label.

WaterSense is a voluntary public-private partnership that recognizes high-performance products and processes. The WaterSense program also seeks to promote consumer use of water-efficient products, certification for water industry professionals, and innovation in water-efficient product manufacturing.

Companies that manufacture, sell or distribute household plumbing fixtures are encouraged to join the WaterSense program, which is also open to water utilities, trade associations, state and local governments and non-governmental organizations.

In the future, a broad spectrum of water-efficient products will carry the WaterSense label, from bathroom faucets to lawn irrigation products. For tips about saving water around the home, visit the WaterSense Web site and take the interactive quiz, "Test Your WaterSense."

More information:

WaterSense: http://www.epa.gov/watersense/
High-Efficiency Toilet Specification: http://www.epa.gov/watersense/partners/specs/het.htm
"Test Your WaterSense": http://www.epa.gov/watersense/quiz/

President Orders Agencies to Conserve Water

On January 24, President Bush issued an Executive Order to federal agencies to strengthen federal environmental, energy, and transportation management. The EO includes a first-ever goal of increasing water conservation intensity by 2% annually through 2015.

"President Bush’s Executive Order promoting improved water conservation at federal facilities aligns well with EPA’s WaterSense program. Efficiency and sustainability at home and at work saves water, energy, and money," said Assistant Administrator for Water Benjamin H. Grumbles.

More information visit the WaterSense Web site: http://www.epa.gov/watersense/
To read the Executive Order: http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2007/01/20070124-2.html

Watershed Tool of the Month:
Introducing NHDPlus - A Geospatial Surface Water Framework

NHDPlus is a suite of application-ready geospatial products that build upon and extend the capabilities of the National Hydrography Dataset (NHD) by integrating the NHD with the National Elevation Dataset and the National Watershed Boundary Dataset. The NHD contains geospatial information for surface water features, such as rivers and lakes, which can be used to make maps, link other water-related information to the NHD network, and perform up/downstream queries and analyses. NHDPlus includes an enhanced NHD stream network with improved names, value-added attributes (such as stream order), incremental drainage areas with landscape characteristics, and flow volume and velocity estimates for pollutant dilution modeling. The EPA and USGS collaborated to produce NHDPlus. See http://www.epa.gov/waters/ for details.

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