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WaterSense: Meets EPA Critera WaterSense Seal An EPA Partnership Program

Flushometer–Valve Toilets

Flushometer-valve toilets are typically found in commercial, institutional, or industrial restrooms, in such places as airports, theaters, stadiums, schools, and office buildings. These types of toilets have two main components–the toilet bowl and the flushometer valve.

To help commercial facilities become more water–efficient, WaterSense has released a Draft Specification for Flushometer–Valve Water Closets (7 pg, 226K, About PDF). WaterSense estimates that there are nearly 27 million flushometer–valve toilets currently installed in the United States. Many of the older flushometer–valve toilets currently installed use 3.5 gallons per flush (gpf) or more—far more water than the federal standard of 1.6 gpf. With many of these models reaching the end of their useful life, replacing them with more efficient models could result in significant water savings. If commercial facilities nationwide replaced all of their older, inefficient flushometer–valve toilets with high–efficiency versions, it would save an estimated 41 billion gallons of water per year.

With this draft specification, EPA is proposing a maximum flush volume of 1.28 gpf for both single–and dual–flush flushometer–valve toilets—a 20 percent savings over the federal standard of 1.6 gpf. Like all WaterSense labeled products, flushometer–valve toilets will be required to be independently certified for performance to ensure they can handle typical commercial waste loads.

By replacing an old, inefficient flushometer-valve toilet with a WaterSense labeled model, a business could save more than 5,400 gallons of water and more than $1,000 over the lifetime of the toilet. Read the Water-Efficient Flushometer-Valve Toilets fact sheet (1 pg, 625K, About PDF) for more information on EPA's draft specification (7 pg, 226K, About PDF).

Manufacturers, retailers, and distributors that produce or sell flushometer valves and/or toilet bowls are now able to partner with WaterSense. Manufacturers that become WaterSense partners commit to labeling products that meet the final specification within one year of its release. Retailers and distributors are eligible for partnership if they sell publicly to customers without requiring installation or consulting services along with the products.

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Technical Information

Are you a manufacturer or retailer or distributor interested in partnering with WaterSense or finding out more about the flushometer–valve toilet specification? Please review the draft flushometer–valve toilet specification for more information, or email us with questions or comments.

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