WaterSense Proposes Half-Gallon Spec for High-Efficiency Urinals

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has announced new draft specifications for certifying high-efficiency urinals under its WaterSense label. Launched in 2006, the WaterSense certification and labeling program designates water-efficient products that have been third-party tested to meet EPA standards (see

EBN July 2006).

This proposal—the program’s first aimed at commercial fixtures—would allow urinals using 0.5 gallons (1.9 l) per flush or less to carry the WaterSense label. The standard would represent a 50% improvement over the current federal standard for urinals of 1.0 gallons (3.8 l) per flush, adopted in 1992. However, the proposal falls short of recognizing the numerous high-efficiency flush urinals already on the market using 0.25 gallons (1 l) per flush or less (see

EBN Nov. 2006 for example).

EPA invites comments on the draft specifications until March 9, 2009, offering more information at http://www.epa.gov/watersense/specs/urinal_spec.htm