California Adopts Water Efficiency Standards For Faucets, Urinals, Toilets

One week after an executive order from California Governor Jerry Brown, the California Energy Commission issued standards for faucets, urinals, and toilet that CEC says will save 10 billion gallons of water in the first year, and ultimately will save more than 100 billion gallons annually. The rule bans the sale of certain products that don't meet the standard as of January 1, 2016. Click here for more on the standards. The emergency rules come as California struggles with a four-year drought that is the worst in more than 1,000 years, according to Tracy Quinn of the Natural Resources Defense Council. She says that some of CEC's new requirements go beyond the standards set by EPA's WaterSense program. According to Quinn, CEC is working on a rebate program to encourage replacement of less efficient water appliances.