Water Conservation and Plumbing Efficiency Standards
Summary
During the opening days of the 106th Congress, Rep. Joe Knollenberg, R-MI, introduced H.R. 623, The Plumbing Standards Improvement Act of 1999. The bill would repeal the requirement in the Energy Policy and Conservation Act of 1992, EPAct, that establishes water-use restrictions for new toilets, showerheads and faucets. The current bill is identical to H.R. 859, which Rep. Knollenberg introduced during the 105th Congress.
The bill was referred to the House Commerce Subcommittee on Energy and Power, which has jurisdiction over the issue. Rep. Joe Barton, R-TX, is the chairman of the subcommittee and one of the 89 cosponsors of the bill.
Background
Supporters of the bill say it's needed in order "to get the government out of our bathrooms." They chant that mantra as if EPAct was somehow designed to let the government dictate our behavior in the bathroom.
In fact, as its name implies, this important and successful federal statute was designed to insure that our children and their children have the water they need for the next century. In just a few short years, EPAct has already begun to realize its enormous potential through dramatic water-use savings by restricting all new toilets to 1.6 gallons per flush (gpf), faucets to 2.2 gallons per minute (gpm) and showerheads to 2.5 gpm.
Plumbing products – toilets, faucets and showerheads – account for the largest indoor use of water in most homes. Low-flow plumbing products together with water-efficient clothes washers can reduce interior residential water use by 30 percent. Efficient plumbing fixtures installed in new homes in 1998 alone will save 16 BILLION gallons of water in 1999. These savings continue and grow each year as more and more efficient plumbing products are installed. Americans could save more than $4 BILLION a year if every U.S. household used available low-flow products.
EPAct is unique in establishing a strong partnership between federal, state and local governments, as well as environmentalists and conservationists. The law provides a single, clear nationwide standard. That, in turn, insures the finest quality products at affordable prices because manufacturers can manufacture to one standard.
If EPAct is repealed, the economies of scale within the present framework will be lost. Every segment of the industry will be forced to comply with a maze of conflicting state and local regulations, which will result in confusion in the marketplace.
Today‘s Plumbing Products
Opponents of the low-flow fixtures insist that the toilets don‘t save that much water because people simply flush twice. But the facts don‘t support that. A study just released by the American Water Works Association, AWWA, concludes that 1.6-gallon toilets are cutting the amount of water used for flushing in half - and that consumers are flushing no more often with their 1.6 gallon toilets than with their older, less efficient toilets that used 3.5 or 5 gallons per flush. The May 1998 issue of Consumer Reports magazine, in its review of low-flow water closets, referred to the bill as "unwarranted", finding "several affordable low-flow toilets that work very well."
At the same time, utilities nationwide have invested hundreds of millions of dollars – ratepayer dollars – in water-conservation programs featuring water-efficient plumbing products. Follow-up surveys demonstrate customer satisfaction to be generally high. These efforts could not be continued if either the product failed to save water or provoked significant customer complaints.
Quite simply, today‘s toilets, showerheads and faucets offer the performance at a price to suit any budget.
Repeal At What Price?
As the nation is increasingly gripped by drought, with many localities imposing voluntary and even mandatory water-use restrictions, water conservation strategies become even more vital. The need to save water is real - not just political rhetoric.
And even where water is not scarce, efficient plumbing products help consumers and communities hold down costs. Consumers save on energy, water and wastewater costs. Communities save on their infrastructure needs. With water and sewer infrastructure costs running millions of dollars each year, communities can rely on the steady water savings that are derived from these products. The use of these low-flow products can delay or even eliminate the need for developing new or expanded municipal water systems and waste water treatment facilities, saving consumers and taxpayers millions of dollars. Conservation goals are met and environmental quality is further safeguarded, all at no additional cost.
It is rare that a federal law accomplishes so much and costs so little.
PMI Action
PMI is opposed to repealing the plumbing products efficiency standards in current law and so testified at a House Commerce subcommittee hearing on H.R. 623 earlier this summer. Any further congressional action on this bill could only be seen as unfortunate and shortsighted. With some 35 million 1.6-gallon toilets now installed all across the country, this new water-saving technology has become an important factor in the achievement of long-sought conservation goals. American communities and consumers are saving money and good products are being sold to the public in a competitive marketplace.