Madison Water Utility has signed on to a letter urging the EPA not to cut its successful WaterSense program. The program is a cornerstone of some of MWU’s most critical conservation initiatives, like the Toilet Rebate Program, which requires participants to replace old toilets with EPA WaterSense-rated models. The utility has also given away about a thousand WaterSense-rated showerheads to help customers lower their home water use, and it plans to build a water efficiency demonstration home, the Water House Project, that would feature WaterSense appliances and plumbing fixtures.
 
The WaterSense program helps consumers make smart water choices through the use of a special certification label on products. Products and services that earn the WaterSense label have been certified to be at least 20 percent more water efficient without sacrificing performance. Since its launch in 2006, the program has saved an estimated 1.5 trillion gallons of water. But WaterSense is funded solely at the discretion of the EPA’s administrator, and the program is considered to be at risk for elimination because of deep cuts to the EPA outlined in the President’s 2018 budget.
 
Madison Water Utility has signed on to a letter from the Alliance for Water Efficiency urging new EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt to keep the WaterSense program intact.  The utility is proud to join the Alliance of Water Efficiency in promoting the efficient and sustainable use of water, and WaterSense is a vital part of that mission.