Energy Commission to Help Californians Save Billions of Gallons of Water

In response to the state’s historic drought and to prepare for the next one, the California Energy Commission approved new standards for showerheads. The standards are expected to save more than 2.4 billion gallons of water in the first year and 38 billion gallons after full stock turnover in 10 years.

The current California showerhead standard is 2.5 gallons per minute. CalGreen code, the California plumbing code and the voluntary WaterSense specification are all 2.0 gallons per minute. The newly adopted standards require that all showerheads not exceed 2.0 gallons per minute maximum flow rate. This applies to fixed and handheld showerheads as well as horizontal body sprayers manufactured on or after July 1, 2016. To increase water savings over time, the standard for showerheads will change to 1.8 gallons per minute maximum flow rate starting July 1, 2018 – making this the most stringent standard in the country.

Governor Edmund G. Brown Jr. issued an executive order in April of this year, which ordered the California Energy Commission to establish standards that improve the efficiency of water appliances available for sale and installation in new and existing buildings.