The American National Standards Institute (ANSI) on Friday announced it has accredited the International Association of Plumbing and Mechanical Officials (IAPMO) to act as the U.S. Technical Advisory Group (U.S./TAG) administrator for the development of a new international standard pertaining to water efficient products and appliances. The standard will be developed and published by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO).

In its role as the U.S./TAG administrator, IAPMO will work to help determine U.S. stakeholder interests for the technical provisions contained within the new standard. ANSI awards administration duties to organizations based on the level of experience in developing national standards in a particular standard developing discipline; in this case, plumbing and water efficiency, areas where The IAPMO Group has demonstrated great leadership.

The U.S./TAG administrator role has many responsibilities, including: nominating experts in the field of water efficiency from other U.S.-based standards developing organizations; convening meetings and discussions to determine U.S. consensus positions on all work items coming before the developing committee; submitting U.S. proposals on all items coming under the scope of the new standard; and selecting delegates who will actively represent U.S. interests at the ISO meetings.

“IAPMO couldn’t be more pleased to be named the U.S./TAG administrator for the development of this critically important international standard,” said G.P. Russ Chaney, CEO of The IAPMO Group. “Not only will this standard work to help consumers across the globe save water and identify high quality consumer goods, it will also work to help prevent the dumping of inferior and potentially dangerous plumbing products and appliances into developing nations.”

The ISO standard will develop water consumption or flow rate criteria for consumer plumbing products and appliances, such as toilets, showerheads, and clothes washers, along with important performance-based provisions that will work to ensure products meet consumer expectations. Meeting the requirements of the standard will allow manufacturers to apply an internationally recognized label to their products, identifying them as being both high performing and water efficient. The standard will also be designed to work seamlessly with existing national-based consumer labeling programs already in place, such as the U.S. EPA’s WaterSense program, which has been credited with saving trillions of gallons of potable water and billions of dollars for consumers in reduced water utility bills. Work toward the development of this standard will formally begin with a July meeting in Sydney, Australia.

For more information, please contact Pete DeMarco at [email protected].