Summer 2024 finds new water use initiatives afloat on two fronts. The Canadian government is preparing to include faucets and shower heads in the national energy efficiency regulations for the first time, while the Open Standards Consortium for Real Estate (OSCRE) is finalizing a data standard to support industry consistency in collecting, interpreting and reporting water consumption, discharge and related environmental impacts.

Faucets and shower heads are set to be newly added to the energy efficiency regulations, along with air compressors, pool pumps and line-voltage thermostats. They’ll join five categories of already regulated commercial and residential appliances/equipment — air conditioners, heat pumps, furnaces, water heaters and general service lamps — slated for revised, more stringent standards beginning in 2026.

Proposed amendments to the energy efficiency regulations, now nearing the end of a public consultation period, will generally align performance and testing requirements with energy standards that have been nationally adopted in the United States. Faucets and shower heads have long been regulated energy-using products in the U.S. so their pending inclusion in Canada’s energy efficiency regulations will harmonize that status on both sides of the border. However, the U.S. department of energy (DOE) has not updated performance requirements for the fixtures in several years so the Canadian regulations correspond with California’s more rigorous state standards for water-flow rates.

“At this time, there are unnecessary regulatory differences across jurisdictions, which can hinder cross-border trade and investment and ultimately impose a cost on citizens, businesses and economies. In this context, regulatory actions are necessary for some energy-using products to keep pace with changes that have taken place in the United States,” the accompanying regulatory analysis states. “Some products require going further than the United States on energy efficiency standards to drive more significant energy savings and assist with the Government’s goal to reduce GHG emissions and achieve net-zero by 2050.”

The proposed regulations set a maximum flow rate of 2 litres per minute (L/min) for manually operated faucets in public bathrooms; 4.7 L/min for faucets in private bathrooms; and 7 L/min for kitchen faucets and shower heads. Automatic faucets (also known as metering faucets) would have a maximum flow rate of 0.95 litres per cycle. This would apply for faucets, shower heads and replacement aerators manufactured or imported in Canada after July 1, 2026.

Projections for energy and water savings and GHG emissions reduction

It’s estimated that, by 2050, the new faucet standards will save 41 petajoules of energy and avoid two megatonnes (Mt) of greenhouse gas emissions in the commercial sector, equating to $372 million in energy benefits and $694 million in emissions avoidance benefits. Shower head standards are projected to have a much more modest impact, amounting to about 1.9 petajoules of energy savings and 100 kilotonnes of GHG avoidance.

In both cases, residential outcomes are expected to be dramatically more significant with estimated energy savings of 401 petajoules from faucets and 242 petajoules from shower heads. That comes with a projected 35 Mt reduction in GHG emissions to 2050. Across all building types, the new measures are projected to result in about 3.3 billion cubic metres of water savings to 2050.

The regulatory analysis accompanying the proposed amendments also addresses concerns about potential inadvertent results that arose from an earlier stakeholder consultation. That includes:

• possible health risks of water’s slower exit from faucets and shower heads and, thus, longer duration within piping systems;
• propensity of consumers to use more water to make up for a diminished flow rate; and
• an altering of the assumptions that water and wastewater utilities have used in their planning processes.

The analysis, informed with input from Natural Resources Canada (NRCan), counters that there has been little evidence of those detrimental outcomes in other jurisdictions that have adopted similar flow-rates. It acknowledges that “the risk is not zero” when water sits in piping for longer periods, but concludes it is not sufficient to override the intent of the regulation. As well, it cites California’s track record of energy and water savings and notes that water and wastewater system operators have readily adapted to lower average water use.

Appliance/equipment specifications are characterized as an easier intervention ahead of other more complicated and capital-intensive approaches through building design. They can quickly penetrate both the retrofit and new-build markets and would be consistent across Canada.

“NRCan determined that using the regulations to reduce fixture flow-rates is the most cost-effective approach to deliver significant and immediate energy and water savings,” the regulatory analysis states. “The regulations apply to products shipped from one province to another or imported into Canada for the purpose of sale or lease.”

Consensus-driven approach for data quality, comparability and transferability

OSCRE’s new water data standard likewise targets consistency. It aligns with several voluntary and mandatory reporting frameworks, including ENERGYSTAR, International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS), Europe’s Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive, the Global Reporting Initiative and the Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures.

It is the second of three standards under OSCRE’s environmental data standards umbrella, and follows the energy data standard introduced last year. The draft water data standard is currently open for review, with work still pending to develop a waste data standard.

The water data standard is intended to assist real estate asset, property and operations managers, investors, lenders and insurers through credible, consensus-driven methods to ensure the quality, comparability and transferability of data. The non-profit industry organization’s broad reach encompasses the generators, consumers and conveyors of data — corporate owners and occupiers, investment managers, consultants and software service providers — and provides a forum for collaboration and peer networking.

“OSCRE’s position has been to find common ground,” Lisa Stanley, OSCRE’s chief executive officer, affirmed during a recent webinar. “I think there’s a recognition in the industry at large that the data that’s being collected across their organizations may have some challenges, and that data consistency and integrity may be tied to bigger consequences than was the case in the past.”

The water data standard is promoted as a tool that can help:

• simplify the baseline for water use monitoring;
• measure the return on investment on water-related capital projects;
• mitigate risk and collect information needed for insurance and underwriting; and
• improve the attractiveness of assets to investors with ESG obligations.

The draft water data standard is open for review until September 6th. The public consultation on proposed amendments to Canada’s energy efficiency regulations closes August 31st.