Trump wants better water flow in his shower. Here’s what that means for you

Energy officials in the U.S. want to redefine the term “showerhead” and change how the products are tested for energy efficiency, according to a proposal spearheaded by the Trump Administration.

The amendments to the 28-year-old energy law would allow multiple showerheads to pour more water than current regulations per minute — a change the president has been pushing in recent complaints about toilet flushing, faucets, dishwashers and now shower nozzles.

“You take a shower, the water doesn’t come out. You want to wash your hands, the water doesn’t come out. So what do you do? You just stand there longer or you take a shower longer? Because my hair — I don’t know about you, but it has to be perfect,” Trump said in July.

The Energy Policy and Conservation Act of 1992 declared a maximum water threshold for showerheads of 2.5 gallons per minute, according to the proposal. But the proposal, if approved, would change the testing procedure and allow manufacturers to sell showerheads with several nozzles that can let out 2.5 gallons each, meaning the total would exceed federal regulations.

Energy experts say the move could not only cost Americans more money on utility bills, but also waste needed water as much of the western U.S. experiences what a study published in the journal Science called a historic two-decade-long megadrought.

Ultimately, the added gallons per minute per shower will add to greenhouse gas emissions, experts say, as more fuel will be burned to bathe people with the warm water they want.

“In response to a historic drought, the president apparently wants showerheads that spray water every which way. It’s an absurd use of [the Department of Energy’s] time, and it’s not going to help our water reservoirs,” Andrew deLaski, executive director of the Appliance Standards Awareness project, said in a statement.

“The new multi-nozzle showerheads would not only needlessly waste water, exacerbating shortages caused by drought, but also boost the carbon pollution that has made long-term droughts worse. No one benefits from this gimmick.”

Shaylyn Hynes, an energy department spokeswoman, defended the proposed change in a statement to CNN.

“President Trump promised the American people that he would reduce onerous federal regulations on the American consumer, and this proposed rulemaking on showerheads does just that,” she said. The rule would allow “Americans — not Washington bureaucrats — to choose what kind of showerheads they have in their homes.”

How could you be affected by the change?

Although Trump has expressed repeated frustration with his water appliances, experts say the public hasn’t pushed for any changes.

A 2016 test by Consumer Reports of the current products on the market found that showerheads were “achieving very good ratings for shower feel” while meeting federal standards.

However, consumers who purchase products emitting more gallons per minute could feel the effects of the change when they receive their first water bill. However, the Environmental Protection Agency says if every home in the U.S. installs “WaterSense” labeled showerheads that let out just 2 gallons per minute, “we could save more than $2.9 billion in water utility bills and more than 260 billion gallons of water annually.”

The proposal from the Trump Administration could allow much more water to be released per shower, making those savings harder to achieve.

Environmental consequences

The EPA says showering accounts for nearly 17% of residential indoor water use, and for the average family, “that adds up to nearly 40 gallons per day. That’s nearly 1.2 trillion gallons of water used in the United States annually just for showering, or enough to supply the water needs of New York and New Jersey for a year.”

Using showerheads that emit less gallons per minute than current standards could avoid about $2.5 billion in energy costs for heating water, the agency said. That’s because heating water makes up about a fifth of the average household’s energy use, according to deLaski.

And the more water that needs to be heated, the more greenhouse gases will be burned in homes with gas water heaters and power plants that give energy to homes with electric ones.