• Plumbing Repair and Efficiency Assistance Program (PREAP) – Creating a new, federally funded program for low-income households for plumbing repair and efficiency improvements; we’ve released a policy white paper outlining our idea and are currently working to build an advocacy coalition
• Tax Credits for New WaterSense Labeled Homes – Expanding the 45L tax credit, which currently covered EnergyStar homes, to also include WaterSense homes; we working with partners to promote this idea in Congress and across relevant industry groups; this fact sheet outlines our proposal
• Ending Federal Taxation of Water Efficiency Rebates – Continuing to support ending federal taxation on water efficiency rebates for residential customers; the Water Conservation Rebate Tax Parity Act would expand the exclusion applicable to energy efficiency rebates to also include water efficiency rebates; AWE is working with the bill sponsors and members to support passage of the bill

• Water Efficiency, Conservation, and Sustainability Act of 2023 (H.R. 5016) – Establishes a dedicated EPA grant program for water efficiency

• Water Infrastructure Sustainability and Efficiency Act (H.R. 2921)  – Requires each state to use a certain percentage of funds it receives for capitalization of its clean water state revolving fund for projects to address green infrastructure, water or energy efficiency improvements, or other environmentally innovative activities.
• Liberty in Laundry Act of 2024 (H.R. 7673) – Places limits on the authority of the Department of Energy (DOE) to prescribe or enforce energy conservation standards for clothes washers.
• Hands Off Our Home Appliances Act (H.R. 6192) – Modifies the process by which the Department of Energy (DOE) amends, revokes, or implements energy conservation standards for certain consumer products (other than automobiles), such as household appliances.

Are you aware of any bills in Congress related to water efficiency that AWE should be aware of? Please email Andrew at andrew@a4we.org.

117th Congress Archive

• Faucets – We developed and submitted these May 23, 2024, comments on the WaterSense notice of intent to revise the high‐efficiency lavatory faucet specification; the revision process is ongoing.
• Point-of-Use Reverse Osmosis Systems – We developed and submitted these March 21, 2024, comments on the WaterSense development update; the specification development process is ongoing.
• Spray Sprinkler Nozzles – We developed and submitted these February 21, 2024, comments on the WaterSense draft specification for spray sprinkler nozzles; the specification development process is ongoing.
• Tank-Type Toilets– WaterSense finalized Version 2.0 of its specification for tank-type toilets in May 2024. The transition period is underway. The major revision relates to reducing the max flush for dual flush toilets to 1.28 gpf. We engaged in the update process, most recently with our February 20, 2024, comments on the draft specification.

• Residential Clothes  Efficiency Requirements – We developed and submitted these May 11, 2023 comments on DOE’s notice of proposed rulemaking for energy efficiency for residential clothes washers, which includes requirements for additional water efficiency;  we joined a coalition led by the Appliance Standards Awareness Project to reach a November 2023 joint agreement with the Association of Home Appliance manufactures on minimum federal energy conservation standards and related matters for specified appliances, including residential clothes washers;  DOE finalized the rule in February 2024 based on the joint agreement with stakeholders, which will take effect in 2028
• Residential Dishwasher Efficiency Requirements – We developed and submitted these July 14, 2023, comments on DOE’s notice of proposed rulemaking for energy efficiency for residential dishwashers, which includes requirements for additional water efficiency;  we joined a coalition led by the Appliance Standards Awareness Project to reach a November 2023 joint agreement with the Association of Home Appliance manufactures on minimum federal energy conservation standards and related matters for specified appliances, including residential dishwashers;  DOE finalized the rule in April 2024 based on the joint agreement with stakeholders, which will take effect in 2027

We submitted these May 11, 2023 comments on EPA’s implementation framework for the greenhouse gas reduction fund.

• We released the report Non-Functional Turf: 2023 Summary of Programs and Policies, which among other things includes coverage of several recent legislative efforts.
• We’ve been tracking the Colorado bill that was signed into law in 2024 – SB24-005 concerning the conservation of water in the state through the prohibition of certain landscaping practices.

We continue to work to support the Appliance Standards Awareness Project (ASAP) in establishing point-of-sale requirements for water-efficient fixtures and appliances. This work involves helping improve and add water efficiency requirements to their model bill each year and supporting its passage in more states. We are one of two water stakeholders actively supporting this effort, which has resulted in water efficiency requirements in almost 20 states covering more than 50% of the US population.

• We submitted these July 18, 2024, comments on the State of Virginia’s proposed water loss regulations.
• We submitted these April 18, 2024, comments on the water loss auditing, validation, and goal-setting aspects of the State of New Jersey’s Statewide Water Supply Plan.

Fannie Mae released in September 2024 a revised single-family green bond framework, and for the first time, it includes WaterSense homes as eligible for its green mortgaged-backed securities program. However, it only includes WaterSense homes in 40 states. Similar action is expected from Freddie Mac in the near future. These programs result in an additional financial benefit for banks, homebuilders, and homeowners related to building WaterSense homes. We are exploring ways to expand these programs to all 50 states and to otherwise help increase both the number of WaterSense homes and the level of participation in these programs.