Water Headlines

Water Headlines for the Week of February 12, 2013 

1) WaterSense Releases Draft Specification for Commercial Pre-Rinse Spray Valves
2) Success Spotlight: Monroe City Route J Lake in Missouri
3) Receive the latest news from EPA's Office of Water through Twitter and Facebook

1) WaterSense Releases Draft Specification for Commercial Pre-Rinse Spray Valves
On February 7, 2013, EPA released a draft specification for commercial pre-rinse spray valves to earn the WaterSense label. Pre-rinse spray valves are often used in commercial and institutional kitchens to remove food waste from dishes prior to dishwashing. EPA's draft specification would set the maximum flow rate for WaterSense-labeled pre-rinse spray valve at 1.28 gallons per minute, or 20 percent less water than the federal standard, while spray force performance criteria would ensure that these valves operate as expected in commercial kitchens. In the future, a commercial kitchen could save more than $115 per year in water and energy costs from installing a WaterSense-labeled pre-rinse spray valve-meaning the valve would pay for itself in as little as eight months. As with all WaterSense specifications, EPA worked collaboratively with a variety of stakeholders to develop the draft specification, and welcomes public comment via its website.

2) Success Spotlight: Monroe City Route J Lake in Missouri
EPA's Clean Water Act Section 319 Program provides funding for restoration of nonpoint source-impaired water bodies. This week's success spotlight shines on Monroe City Route J Lake in Missouri. Herbicides applied to row crops, combined with subsequent stormwater runoff, led to periodic high concentrations of atrazine and cyanazine in the Monroe City Route J Lake, a drinking water source in northeastern Missouri. As a result, the Missouri Department of Natural Resources placed the lake on the state's list of impaired waters for atrazine and cyanazine in 1996 and 1998, respectively. Farmers were encouraged to apply herbicides more carefully and implement best management practices, such as installing filter strips, planting buffer zones, moving tile outlets and improving terrace/outlet construction practice. Herbicide concentrations in the lake declined and the state to removed the lake from its list of impaired waters in 2006. Click here for more information.

3) Receive the latest news from EPA's Office of Water through Twitter and Facebook
EPA's Office of Water is on Twitter and Facebook. Be sure to follow @EPAwater on Twitter and visit our Water is Worth It Facebook page for the latest water news, activities, opportunities and resources. Share your thoughts and experiences as we explore the many ways that water is worth it at http://twitter.com/epawater and http://www.facebook.com/EPAWaterIsWorthIt