DRAFT DRAFT DRAFT DRAFT
April 10, 2000
The Honorable XXX YYY
U. S. House of Representatives
Washington, DC 20515
Dear Representative YYY:
This week, the Subcommittee on Energy and Power is expected to take up H.R. 623, the so-called “Plumbing Standards Improvement Act,” which would repeal uniform national water efficiency standards for plumbing products. We are writing to express our strong opposition to this bill, and urge you to vote against it.
The evidence is clear. Efficient new plumbing products on the market today – toilets, showerheads, urinals, and faucets – work well and are saving enormous amounts of water. Water savings have been documented in field studies by many water and wastewater utilities. Consumer acceptance has been documented as well in numerous surveys of households with efficient new plumbing products in daily use. Not surprisingly, Consumer Reports magazine has called the Knollenberg bill “unwarranted.”
Because they have proven to be so effective at saving water, efficient plumbing products offer tremendous environmental benefits. Some of these benefits include –
· Maintaining riparian habitat and restoring fisheries;
· Protecting groundwater supplies from depletion and contamination;
· Restoring the natural values and functions of wetlands and estuaries;
· Reducing the need for costly and damaging new dams and pipelines;
· Reducing inflows to overloaded wastewater treatment plants and septic systems; and
· Reducing the energy consumption needed to pump, heat, and treat water.
With the savings in water come savings in dollars – lower consumer water and sewer bills and more manageable community expenditures on new and expanded infrastructure. All parts of the country have substantial water and wastewater infrastructure needs, and the high costs faced by many communities may frustrate or delay achieving national goals for safe drinking water and improved water quality. By significantly reducing indoor water use, efficient plumbing products can hold down these costs and speed up the realization of these widely supported environmental goals.
Following the lead set by many states in the late 80’s and early 90’s, President Bush signed uniform national water efficiency standards into law in 1992 with the support of the plumbing industry, water and wastewater utilities, and environmental and consumer organizations. Now, the wisdom of this policy is just becoming apparent, as hundreds of millions of gallons of fresh water are being saved every day. Enactment of H.R. 623 would strip away this important tool for protecting our environment, and place further gains in water efficiency at great risk.
We believe that a vote for H.R. 623 is a bad vote for the environment, and we urge you to maintain current law and oppose this bill.
Sincerely,
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