Thank you!
Your support is sustaining the future of local news in our communities.

Get in the flow, switch to low flow showerheads

Dear EarthTalk: What’s up with all the debate lately as to the flow allowed in new showerheads?

— Bill G., New York, N.Y.

 

The shower is a place of rejuvenation and relaxation for many of us, but it is also a big water hog, accounting for roughly 17% of the average U.S. household’s water usage. We use a lot less water in our showers nowadays thanks to a Clinton-era law mandating new showerheads sold in the U.S. can’t top a flow rate of 2.5 gallons per minute (GPM). While some showerhead manufacturers tried to circumvent the new restrictions by utilizing multiple nozzles, the federal government eventually revised the legislation (in 2013) to limit entire fixtures to 2.5 GPM. 

Dissatisfied with the water pressure in his showers, in December 2020, former President Trump reversed the Obama-era amendment; this restored the federal limit of 2.5 GPM to be applied to individual nozzles instead of the entire fixture. A shower head with three nozzles could then use 7.5 GPM.

The loophole posed detrimental environmental impacts. Americans take about 200 million showers every day. The Alliance of Water Efficiency estimates under Trump’s rule U.S. water usage would increase by 161 billion gallons per year, resulting in more energy use to heat that water, in turn increasing greenhouse gas emissions.

According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), homes that switched out older less efficient showerheads with newer models have saved some 2,700 gallons of water per year, equating to a savings of 330 kilowatt hours of electricity annually — enough to power an entire house for 11 days. The Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) estimates the average American household could save $500 per year on utility bills after switching to low-flow shower heads.

EarthTalk® is produced by Roddy Scheer & Doug Moss for the 501(c)3 nonprofit EarthTalk. See more www.emagazine.com. Send questions to:  question@earthtalk.org.

Roddy Scheer
Doug Moss
The views expressed here are not necessarily those of The Millerton News and The News does not support or oppose candidates for public office.

Latest News

The Millerton News - September 3, 2026

The Millerton News - September 3, 2026

Download directly

At Peggy Mercury, prep meets punk in ‘Imaginary Concerts’

At Peggy Mercury, prep meets punk in ‘Imaginary Concerts’
Greg Fricke and James Boehmer, co-owners of Peggy Mercury in Kent, recently launched their first fashion line, “Imaginary Concerts.”
Provided

Last month, James Boehmer and Greg Fricke of Peggy Mercury launched their first fashion line, “Imaginary Concerts,” wearable art sold exclusively at their store in the Kent Barns section of Kent, Connecticut.

The two fashion industry veterans opened Peggy Mercury more than two years ago, and a quick visit will tell you that people are finding what they’re looking for at the beauty and lifestyle store. But what they’re looking for is never standard.

Keep ReadingShow less
fashion

“Girlbomb” at 20

“Girlbomb” at 20
Photo by Jessica YurkoMillerton author Janice Erlbaum will celebrate the 20th anniversary of her memoir “Girlbomb” at Black Rabbit Dispensary on Sept. 5.
Photo by Jessica YurkoMillerton author Janice Erlbaum will celebrate the 20th anniversary of her memoir “Girlbomb” at Black Rabbit Dispensary on Sept. 5.
With memoir...the character only knows what the character knows.
—Janice Erlbaum

In “Girlbomb: A Halfway Homeless Memoir,” published in 2006, author Janice Erlbaum wrote about the years after she left her family’s Brooklyn apartment at 15, moving through shelters, group homes, squats, clubs and the streets of 1980s New York while somehow continuing to attend high school. The book has sold more than 75,000 copies, stayed in print for two decades and continues to find new readers.

Now Erlbaum, 57, lives in Millerton and on Saturday, Sept. 5, at 7:30 p.m., she will celebrate the 20th anniversary of “Girlbomb” with a reading at Black Rabbit Dispensary. The event is open to the public and will be livestreamed on Instagram.

Keep ReadingShow less
our community
google preferred source

Want more of our stories on Google? Click here to make us a Preferred Source.

Spencertown’s 21st Festival Of Books

Spencertown’s 21st Festival Of Books
Joshua Jelly-Schapiro, author of “Daylight Come: Harry Belafonte and the World He Made” is one of thefeatured authors at the Spencertown Academy Festival of Books on Saturday, Sept. 5.
Mirissa Neff

On Saturday, Sept. 5, the Spencertown Academy Arts Center in Spencertown, New York, will host its 21st annual Book Festival.

With over 20,000 gently used books, CDs, DVDs and vinyl donated by the community, it took volunteers 45 days — and an estimated 750 hours —to set the whole thing up. Most of that time was spent sorting through the vast troves of donations and organizing them by category.

Keep ReadingShow less
community

Paul Newman racing doc to screen in North Canaan on Sunday

Paul Newman racing doc to screen in North Canaan on Sunday
“Winning: The Racing Life of Paul Newman,”will be screened Sunday, Sept. 6, at the Colonial Theatre in North Canaan.
Provided

On Sunday, Sept. 6, Lime Rock Park will host a screening of the documentary “Winning: The Racing Life of Paul Newman” at the Colonial Theatre in North Canaan at 7 p.m.

Newman was one of the most celebrated actors of the 20th century, known for films including “Cat on a Hot Tin Roof,” “Hud” and “Cool Hand Luke.” His 1969 film “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid” also began a decades-long friendship with co-star Robert Redford.

Keep ReadingShow less
film

Community to take center stage at Dive Barn

Community to take center stage at Dive Barn

A scene from last year’s Dance Barn.

Steven Tayler

On Sunday, Sept. 6, PS21 in Chatham, New York, will host a celebration of community through dance at its second annual Dive Barn performance at the organization’s Dance Barn.

Dive Barn is the brainchild of dancer, teacher and choreographer Sayer Mansfield, who has dedicated her life to contemporary and experimental dance. She studied in the Department of Dance at NYU Tisch School of the Arts and at the Salzburg Experimental Academy of Dance. She’s performed with companies including Pilobolus, Compagnie Marie Chouinardand Mark Morris Dance Group. Her work has been featured in films including “Little Women,” “Maestro” and “Sproutland.” She has served on the faculties of Jacob’s Pillow, Phillips Academy Andover, as well as Harvard and Yale Universities.

Keep ReadingShow less
dance
google preferred source

Want more of our stories on Google? Click here to make us a Preferred Source.