It was one of Donald Trump’s oddest pet projects: the effort to Make Showerheads Overflow Again. Now, President Joe Biden is reversing a Trump Administration rule that conservationists say wastes water in an era of historic drought.
Last year, Trump lifted a federal restriction on the amount of water that can flow through a showerhead. Since 2013, the government held the position that 2.5 gallons a minute was plenty for a good cleaning. Therefore, all commercially produced showerheads were forced to stay within that limit.
The prohibition irked Trump:
“So showerheads — you take a shower, the water doesn’t come out. You want to wash your hands, the water doesn’t come out,″ Trump said at the White House last year. “So what do you do? You just stand there longer or you take a shower longer? Because my hair — I don’t know about you, but it has to be perfect. Perfect.”
The Trump administration jettisoned the 2.5 gallon limit, instead saying each nozzle was allowed to produce that amount. Most showerheads have multiple nozzles.
Now Biden is set to reimpose the 2013 rule. The Associated Press explains:
The change will ensure that consumers continue to save money while reducing water use and paying lower energy bills, the Energy Department said. Officials estimated that the Obama-era rule saved households about $38 a year, and the Energy Department expects similar savings by reverting to the 2013 standard.
“As many parts of America experience historic droughts, this commonsense proposal means consumers can purchase showerheads that conserve water and save them money on their utility bills,″ Kelly Speakes-Backman, acting assistant secretary for the department’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, said Friday.
Experts say that Trump’s brief change to the rule had little effect. Most manufacturers abided by the 2013 standard, even when it was no longer mandated.
