Legislation Formally Authorizes EPA WaterSense Program into Perpetuity
12/03/2018
ANSI accredits product certification bodies that are part of the WaterSense Program
In support of greater water and energy conservation, President Donald Trump last month signed S. 3021, the Water Resources Development Act (WRDA), an action that authorizes the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) WaterSense program into perpetuity. The American National Standards Institute (ANSI) proudly supports this program as an accreditation body that participates in the program.
EPA's WaterSense program is a voluntary partnership collaborative that promotes water conservation and efficiency and supports the market for water-efficient products, programs, and practices. It helps consumers easily identify water-efficient product categoriesfrom bathroom sink faucets to showerheads, for examplethrough a WaterSense label, a designation that signifies that products meet the EPA's criteria for efficiency and performance.
The signing of "America's Water Infrastructure Act of 2018" statutorily imbeds the WaterSense program into U.S. law, passed by the Senate after a 99-1 vote.
The program, a collaboration between industry and government, has helped reduce the amount of energy needed to heat, pump, and treat water by 367 billion kilowatt hours, enough to supply a year's worth of power to more than 34.1 million homes, a $63.8 billion cost savings to consumers in water and energy bills. Currently, the partnership program has more than 1,948 organizational partners, according to EPA's WaterSense Accomplishment Report published last year.
In 2009, ANSI and the EPA signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to mark ANSI's recognition as an Accreditation Body (AB) to participate in the program. ANSI accreditation adds value to the certification process to assure that certification bodies demonstrate compliance with the WaterSense product certification system.
ANSI accredits certification bodies for WaterSense products listed on EPA's website. Additionally, ANSI has published a list of certification bodies that it has accredited as product certification bodies on its website. Stephanie Tanner, who serves as the manager of the program, is also member of the ANSI accreditation committee for product certification bodies.
How Does ANSI Accreditation Support EPA's WaterSense?
ANSI is recognized by EPA to assess the competence of product certification bodies against the requirements set forth in:
- International Standard ISO/IEC Guide 17065 Conformity assessment---Requirements for bodies certifying products, processes and services by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) and the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC); and
- EPA's requirements, which are defined in the WaterSense Product Certification System.
"We are happy to support WaterSense to enhance market confidence through accreditation, and we are excited that this signing propels the program so that it can continue to support U.S. water supply conservation and consumer savings," said Lane Hallenbeck, vice president of accreditation services at ANSI.
