The flow of water from shower heads and bathroom faucets in California will be sharply reduced under strict new limits approved Wednesday by the state Energy Commission.
Current rules, established in 1994 at the federal level, allow a maximum flow of 2.5 gallons per minute from a shower head.
Effective next July, the limit will fall to 2.0 gallons per minute and will be reduced again in July 2018, to 1.8 gallons, giving California the toughest standard of any U.S. state.
After a full turnover of shower head and faucet stocks by 2029, the regulations are expected to save 38 billion gallons of water, 20.