Water-Efficiency Rebates Gain Support

The Plumbing Manufacturers International has thrown its weight behind a California plan to offer consumers incentives to replace their leaky faucets or inefficient showers.

Pointing to the severity of the California drought, PMI announced its support of Governor Jerry Brown’s call for a statewide rebate program encouraging the purchase of water-efficient plumbing products, such as toilets, showerheads and faucets, to replace older ones.

“Just as you wouldn’t use a 25-year-old cell phone, it doesn’t make sense to use 25-year-old plumbing technology,” said PMI executive director and CEO Barbara Higgens.

PMI has long encouraged the replacement, or retrofitting, of older fixtures with WaterSense toilets, showerheads and faucets meeting Environmental Protection Agency criteria. Widely available in stores throughout California and the nation, WaterSense products can save up to 360 million gallons of water per day in California alone, according to a PMI estimate. PMI and its member companies — which produce most of the plumbing products in the United States — participate as partners in the WaterSense program. “Using WaterSense products is common sense,” Higgens said.

Higgins will be a part of a panel presentation on “The Future of Water” at an April 13 Water Week event in Washington, D.C. “There have been tremendous advancements in the technology and efficacy of plumbing products,” she said.

Member companies of PMI produce about 90 percent of the nation’s plumbing products, according to the trade association.

Courtesy of hbsdealer.com