Like EPA's ENERGY STAR program, WaterSense(SM) label will help consumers choose products that are more efficient KOHLER, Wis., May 2 /PRNewswire/ -- On the heels of celebrating Earth Day in April and moving forward into the inevitable summer drought months, consumers are sure to be inundated with messages about ways to reduce water use in their homes and workplaces. To help make sense of it all and to spur consumers into action, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is beginning to test products for its WaterSense program, a labeling program that encourages water efficiency and the use of water efficient products that perform as well as or better than their less efficient counterparts. As of April, eight toilets from Kohler Co. earned the WaterSense label, which means these toilets use at least 20 percent less water than standard 1.6-gallon toilets while still meeting strict flushing performance guidelines. "The WaterSense label lets consumers know with certainty that they're choosing products that use significantly less water, without having to worry whether those products will still perform well," said Rob Zimmerman, senior staff engineer for Kohler's water conservation initiatives. "Kohler Co. has made a commitment to being a leader and innovator in this area, and we look forward to developing products that meet both WaterSense and Kohler's shared commitment to conservation and quality." According to estimates, the average family of four uses about 400 gallons of water each day, and toilets represent a whopping 26 percent of all home indoor water use. Using the same premise as the EPA's ENERGY STAR program, which focuses on products that meet certain energy-efficiency criteria, WaterSense has been developed to easily identify products that conserve water, yet utilizes third party product certification bodies.
