Water conservation regs are killing the shower tower

Consumer Reports magazine is reporting that water conservation rules are killing the shower tower. The magazine noted that multiple head showers previously skirted the rules by producing 2.5-GPM per head, but a clarification that the 1994 EPACT law would consider the entire assembly a single showerhead has cut sales of the products.

The CR story notes:

It was Consumer Reports’ own showerhead testing five years ago that first alerted federal authorities to the loose interpretation of 1994 regulations that allowed shower towers to limit each nozzle to the legal maximum of 2.5 gallons per minute but that put out much more water when turned on all at once. One of the showerheads we tested, the Hudson Reed Theme Thermostatic AS333, actually exceeded the federal limit with its main showerhead alone, delivering an average 3.95 gpm. Hudson Reed was later fined $1.9 million by the Department of Energy for that and 63 other products.

The story concludes with a list of law-abiding showerheads that deliver a good showering experience, including products from Moen and American Standard.