• Water is a finite resource—even though about 70 percent of the Earth’s surface is covered by water, less than 1 percent is available for human use.
• At least 36 states are projecting water shortages between now and 2013.
• Each American uses an average of 100 gallons of water a day at home.
• We can all use 30 percent less water by installing water-efficient fixtures and appliances.
• The average household spends as much as $500 per year on their water and sewer bill and can save about $170 per year by installing water-efficient fixtures and appliances.

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WaterSense and Water Savings

• WaterSense labels products that are 20 percent more water-efficient and perform as well as or better than conventional models.
• WaterSense labeled faucets—or aerators that can be installed on existing bathroom faucets—are about 30 percent more efficient than standard faucets, but still provide plenty of good flow.
• WaterSense labeled toilets use 20 percent less water per flush, but perform as well as or better than today’s standard toilets and older toilets that use much more water.
• The WaterSense label is now found on more than 170 different toilet models and 100 faucet or faucet accessory models that are independently tested and certified to meet EPA’s criteria for both efficiency and performance.
• To reduce outdoor water use, WaterSense is researching weather-based irrigation controllers and soil moisture sensors that do the thinking for you when it comes to watering your lawn.
• To design, service, or audit your in-ground landscape irrigation system, look for one of the more than 470 WaterSense irrigation partners.

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Facts and Statistics

• Approximately 5 to 10 percent of American homes have water leaks that drip away 90 gallons a day or more! Many of these leaks reside in old fixtures such as leaky toilets and faucets. In fact, water lost by these leaky residences could be reduced by more than 30,000 gallons if new, efficient fixtures were installed. If the 5 percent of American homes that leak the most corrected those leaks—it could save more than 177 billion gallons of water annually!
• Using WaterSense labeled faucets or faucet accessories could reduce a household’s faucet water use by more than 500 gallons annually—that’s enough water to do 14 loads of laundry.
• WaterSense labeled faucets and faucet accessories can reduce excessive flow volumes by more than 30 percent without sacrificing performance.
• If one in every 10 homes in the United States were to install WaterSense labeled faucets or faucet accessories in their bathrooms, it could save 6 billion gallons of water, and more than $50 million in the energy costs to supply, heat, and treat that water.
• If all inefficient toilets in U.S. homes were converted to WaterSense labeled models, we could save more than 640 billion gallons of water per year—the equivalent to 15 days of flow over Niagara Falls.

• If homeowners with irrigation systems use WaterSense irrigation partners to perform regular maintenance, they could reduce irrigation water by 15 percent or about 9,000 gallons annually—or the amount of water that would flow from a garden hose nonstop for nearly a whole day.

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* Please contact the WaterSense Helpline at watersense@epa.gov or (866) WTR-SENS (987-7367) if you are interested in learning the sources for these statistics and facts.

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This entry was posted on Tuesday, October 7th, 2008at 2:00 pmand is filed under Expert Blog, Features, News and Features, SMART BLOGS, Water. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.