At the urging of the International Association of Plumbing and Mechanical Officials (IAPMO), the High-Performance Buildings Coalition (HPBC), Plumbing Manufacturers International (PMI), the Alliance for Water Efficiency (AWE), and other industry partners, the U.S. House of Representatives' Interior Appropriations Subcommittee, which oversees funding for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), has issued its Fiscal Year 2018 agency funding report rejecting the proposed elimination of the EPA’s WaterSenseTM program.

IAPMO applauds the subcommittee members, led by Rep. Ken Calvert (R-Calif.), with whom IAPMO met on several occasions to promote the continued funding and operation of WaterSense, for taking this strong stance on behalf of the vastly successful and vital consumer product efficiency labeling program.

In April, IAPMO, the HPBC and 61 of the nation’s leading manufacturers, associations, and professional organizations in the building industry delivered a letter to EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt promoting the virtues of WaterSense and strongly recommending its continuation. A true public-private partnership, WaterSense is a voluntary program that identifies efficient and high-performing water-consuming products.

While the EPA spends approximately $3 million a year to administer the program, it has saved consumers more than $33 billion in water and energy bills since the program’s inception in 2006. The program is widely supported across the building industry and has enjoyed bipartisan support on Capitol Hill throughout its existence. This support is not only due to the program’s successful outcomes, but also because of the quality and integrity of the products bearing the WaterSense label, as verified through third-party certification, subject to government oversight. This has allowed WaterSense to benefit consumers and industry alike.

“We are pleased with the efforts by the subcommittee and the leadership by Chairman Calvert in expressing, in no uncertain terms, that eliminating WaterSense is a bad idea,” IAPMO Senior Vice President of Government Relations and HPBC Chairman Dain Hansen said. “The WaterSense program is vital to manufacturers, states, cities, and utilities, and having the subcommittee declare such sends a clear message to the administration that this program must remain.

“While this recommendation is certainly a step in the right direction, we must remain vigilant to see this across the finish line.”

Because of the value of WaterSense to their business, employees, communities and customers, more than 1,700 manufacturers, water and energy utilities, distributors, state and local governments, non-profit organizations, trade associations, and retailers nationwide have partnered with the program.