Policy Activities

Advancing transformational water efficiency policies at the federal and state levels and keeping our members informed on key policy trends.

2024 Policy Priorities

The Alliance for Water Efficiency’s policy efforts are primarily focused on the federal level, though we provide support and guidance to our members working to enact legislative change at the state and local levels. This work is guided by AWE’s board-approved policy priorities, the WaterSense Water Efficient Products Advisory Committee, and ad-hoc working groups focused on specific issues. If you’re an AWE member interested in engaging with or tracking key water efficiency policies, email Andrew Morris, Senior Manager of Policy and Programs.

US Congress

Proactive Initiatives

  • 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

Legislative Watch

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.

Executive Branch

WaterSense Program

  • 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.

Department of Energy

  • 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

Archive

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

States, Tribes, & Territories

Non-Functional Turf and Outdoor Efficiency Legislation

  • 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.

Point-of-Sale Requirements for Water Efficient Products

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.

Utility Water Loss Control

  • 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.

Market-Based Initiatives

Expand Green Mortgaged-Backed Securities Programs to Cover More WaterSense Homes

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.

*Given the shared markets in North America for water-efficient products and practices, AWE focuses on market-based solutions and US federal and state policy. We are available to assist our Canadian members with policy support requests as they arise.

Related Links:

GovTrack.us – An independent tool to help the public research and track the activities in the U.S. Congress.
Congress.Gov – Library of Congress site offering federal legislative information freely to the public.
Parliament of Canada LEGISinfo – Research tool for finding information on legislation before the Canadian Parliament.