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RESNET and ICC Form Standard Committee to Develop American National Consensus Standard on Water Rating Index

Aug 17, 2017

RESNET is partnering with the International Code Council (ICC) to develop a national consensus Water Rating Index standard for the rating of water efficiency in homes.

In many parts of the nation water is fast becoming an increasingly expensive and scarce commodity. There is clearly a need for a standardized approach in rating a home’s efficient use of water. The standard will assist home buyers in their purchasing by providing a performance metric on how efficiently water is being used in the homes under consideration. It will also provide an opportunity for home builders to promote and monetize the efficiency of the homes they have constructed in the same fashion that the HERS® Index plays for energy efficiency.  The new standard will be a companion piece to the Energy Rating Index.

RESNET and ICC have formed the Standard Development Committee (SDC) 1100 – Water Rating Index.  The SDC 1100 will oversee RESNET’s water rating standards.  The committee will build upon the technical guidelines developed by the RESNET Water Index Working Group.  A public review and comment process has been completed on the draft guidelines.

The members of the SDC 1100 – Water Rating Index are:

  • Jacob Atalla, Vice President of Sustainability, KB Home
  • Brett Cook, Building Code Official, City of Boardman, Oregon
  • Mary Ann Dickinson, Alliance for Water Efficiency
  • Andrew Espinoza, Building Code Official, City of San Antonio, Texas
  • Philip Fairey, Deputy Director, Florida Solar Energy Center
  • Ed Osann, Team Leader – Water Use Efficiency, Natural Resources Defense Council
  • David Sauter, Building Code Official, Hatfield Township, Pennsylvania
  • Jonah Schein, WaterSense Program Manager, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
  • Kelly Stephens, Director of Operations, SunRiver Development

Plans are underway to submit the draft Water Rating Index standard for RESNET ANSI standards public review and comment in the final quarter of 2017.

The Water Rating Index standard, once adopted, can be used by builders to market the water efficiency of the homes they build, by state and local water boards to provide incentives for builders to build water efficient homes, and by code jurisdictions to have a Water Rating Index option in their building codes.