The EPA has modified its WaterSense specification for new homes to include updated product requirements and new landscape criteria, and to allow apartment and condominium units to earn the WaterSense label.The specification revision includes the following highlights:

• Showerheads must be WaterSense labeled models that use 2.0 gpm or less.
• New apartments or condos can earn the WaterSense label. Individual units in new residential buildings are eligible to earn the label, and builders must ensure that the common areas of these buildings also meet specific indoor and outdoor criteria.
• WaterSense now requires builders of WaterSense labeled homes to use EPA’s Water Budget Tool to inform their landscape design.
• If an irrigation system with a weather-based irrigation controller is used to water the lawn, the controller must be a WaterSense labeled model. WaterSense labeled controllers act like a thermostat for your lawn, using local weather data to determine when and how much to water.

Homes labeled after Jan. 1, 2013, must meet the revised criteria.