Agency Releases Draft Specs on WaterSense Irrigation Controllers
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency released its Draft WaterSense Specification for Weather-Based Irrigation Controllers on Nov. 19, marking the first irrigation product to be considered for the WaterSense label.
More information on the specification, which will be open for public comment through Jan. 18, 2010, is available at www.epa.gov/watersense/specs/controltech.htm.
When the specification is finalized, homeowners and irrigation professionals can use WaterSense labeled irrigation controllers that create or modify irrigation schedules to meet landscape water needs based on real-time weather data. Replacing a standard clock timer controller with a WaterSense labeled controller could save more than 11,000 gallons of water per year. If every home with an automatic irrigation system were to install a WaterSense labeled irrigation controller, it would save nearly 150 billion gallons per year across the United States, as well as more than $400 million in homeowners' utility costs.
WaterSense is an EPA partnership program that seeks to enhance the market for water-efficient products and services. WaterSense is both a label for products and a resource to help people use water more efficiently.