WaterSense Program
Transforming the marketplace for products and services that use water and promoting a nationwide ethic of water efficiency to help Americans reduce their water use at home, at work, and outdoors.
On this page:
- About the Program
- Types of Assistance
- How This Program Helps Build Resilience
- Connections to Other EPA, Federal, or Non-Governmental Efforts
About the Program
The WaterSense program is a voluntary partnership program focused on helping consumers understand the importance of saving water resources by using water-efficient products and practices. WaterSense develops specifications for water-efficient products, homes, and programs that meet criteria for efficiency and performance. WaterSense-labeled products and services are certified to use at least 20% less water, save energy, and perform as well as or better than regular models. The program has partnered with more than 2,000 public and private organizations to help carry the program to the public.
Types of Assistance
WaterSense offers outreach and education assistance to partners and consumers about resources that can help with climate mitigation and resilience.
Organizations that partner with the EPA can leverage WaterSense program resources and messaging to support their own programs. WaterSense provides a broad range of resources to help partners communicate with their customers. The program also has a number of consumer campaigns that partners can use to engage customers, as well as regular webinars to help partners share their experiences and network. For example, water utilities that wish to identify water-efficient products for rebates and other incentives can direct their customers to WaterSense listings of more than 35,000 product models that have earned the label.
How This Program Helps Build Resilience
WaterSense can help water utilities build resilience by managing long-term demand. This can help utilities avoid new or costly infrastructure upgrades needed for greater capacity to serve customers. For example, Rockland County and the Rockland Water Coalition in New York are leveraging the WaterSense program as they develop a comprehensive water management plan to reduce water demand and thus eliminate the need for a new desalination plant on the Hudson River.
The program also helps build resilience by providing water utilities, local governments, and non-governmental organizations with tools to respond to drought conditions that may affect their area. Smaller utilities, which often lack education and outreach resources, can greatly benefit from customizable WaterSense tools that allow them to quickly develop materials for release. For example, after a drought had been declared for the Charlottesville, Virginia, area the city’s Conservation Director was able to quickly access WaterSense tools and send out real-time messages to consumers asking them to reduce water use.
Connections to Other EPA, Federal, or Non-Governmental Efforts
WaterSense collaborates with the EPA’s ENERGY STAR, to encourage businesses focused on energy efficiency to add water efficiency to their efforts. Reductions in water use can also reduce energy use by 1) reducing the need to pump and treat water and wastewater and 2) reducing the need to heat water for certain end uses like showering or washing.
The WaterSense program’s focus on water-efficient landscaping can also leverage green infrastructure efforts, as many of the practices used to create a more-water efficient landscape also help to keep water on-site rather than as runoff that carries pollutants to water bodies.
Many EPA Regional Offices have WaterSense liaisons who work with organizations within their region. For example, the liaison in EPA Region 5 has worked with local planning districts seeking to adopt ordinances that advance water-efficient products and practices. Water utilities and local governments can also work with Agency staff to sign on as WaterSense partners, which is easy and free.