THE PRODUCT:

Plumbing products include showerheads, lavatory and kitchen faucets, faucet aerators, metering
faucets, toilets, and urinals

THE STANDARD:
In the 1980s and early 90s, multiple states adopted standards setting maximum water use levels for
showerheads, faucets, toilets, and urinals. Based on these standards, Cognress adopted national
standards on these products in the Energy Policy Act of 1992. The following standards took effect in
1994:

Product 1994 Federal Standard

Showerheads 2.5 gpm (gallons per minute) at 80 psi (pounds per square inch)

Lavatory and kitchen faucets 2.2 gpm at 60 psi

Faucet aerators 2.2 gpm at 60 psi

Metering faucets 0.25 gpc (gallons per cycle)

Toilets 1.6 gpf (gallons per flush)

Urinals 1.0 gpf

Under the law, if the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) revises these standards,
DOE is obligated to review ASME's action and consider revising the federal standards. If ASME does
not revise the standards within five years, states are free to set more stringent standards
themselves. ASME had not revised the standards by 2010 when DOE officially waived preemption
for plumbing products, allowing states to set standards provided that they are more stringent than
the 1994 federal standards.

In 2007 California set standards for various plumbing products followed by Texas. In April 2015, after
the California Governor declared a state of emergency because of severe to extreme drought, the
California Energy Commission adopted more stringent standards for plumbing products as noted in
the table below.

California 2015 standards (stanards

Effective
Product represent maximum level unless
date
otherwise noted)

Showerheads Tier 1: 2.0 gpm (gallons per minute) at 80 psi (pounds per July 1, 2016
 square inch)

Tier 2: 1.8 gpm at 80 psi July 1, 2018

All showerheads shall have a minimum flow rate of 60% of

maximum flow rate at 20 psi

All showerheads shall have a minimum flow rate of 75% of

maximum flow rate at 45 psi

September 1,
1.5 gpm at 60 psi
Lavatory faucets 2016
and aerators
1.2 gpm at 60 psi
July 1, 2016

Kitchen faucets 1.8 gpm with optional temporary flow of 2.2 gpm at 60psi January 1, 2016

Public lavatory
0.5 gpm at 60 psi January 1, 2016
faucets

All water closets

1.28 gpf (gallons per flush) January 1, 2016
(toilets)

Trough-type urinals Trough length (in inches)/16 January 1, 2016

Wall-mounted
0.125 gpf January 1, 2016
urinals

Other urinals 0.5 gpf January 1, 2016

In 2006, EPA launched WaterSense, similar to ENERGY STAR but focused on helping consumers
identify water-efficient products.