It’s time to talk about water – and showerheads. Seriously. Although we heard about the president’s “war on showerheads” when it resurfaced in April, we were focused on the administration’s gutting of our federal government, lost jobs, frozen grants, tariffs and other actions that continue to harm our communities.
It was not until Wednesday that we realized there was an entire Executive Order on the topic – “Maintaining Acceptable Water Pressure in Showerheads” – with an accompanying fact sheet, “President Donald Trump Makes America’s Showers Great Again.”
We had planned to write about the seriousness of the drought we still find ourselves in and stumbled upon the unseriousness of what holds our president’s attention. Reading like a script of a skit from “Saturday Night Live,” we were even unsure if the webpages were real and from a government website. They are, so we’ll address both the serious and unserious.
We’re not sure what exactly was happening on April 9, the date of the EO, but it’s quite possible that the administration was again distracting the media with another shiny object (like the Qatar plane). Trump is really good at “flooding the zone,” a term coined by Steve Bannon in 2018.
The strategy daily has Trump’s opposition and an already contracted press – 3,200 newspapers closed and 30,000 jobs have been lost nationally since 2005 – unable to respond to the onslaught of new directives and policy announcements, and takes attention away from serious issues. A high level of overwhelm, and the fact that Trump knows his base loves this type of thing, is their goal.
The EO and Fact Sheet contain some doozies, with references to “restoring shower freedom,” “the Left’s war on water pressure” and other than the predictable Fact Sheet title, “MASGA,” this one wins: “No longer will showerheads be weak and worthless.”
A strong man must defend his showerhead. Trump has long complained about the low flows he experienced while living (and showering) in NYC. “I like to take care of my beautiful hair,” said Trump while signing the EO.
Well, the so-called ‘war on water flow’ didn’t start with Biden (or Obama). George H.W. Bush signed the Energy Policy Act of 1992 which was designed to reduce our reliance on foreign oil and contained provisions to promote energy efficiency, water and energy conservation. All good things that make Americans safer and save money.
The regulation does stand at “13,000 words,” a criticism in the EO intended to prove over-burdensome regulations. Rather, it is a regulation comprehensively reflecting the complexity of implementing national energy and water efficiency standards. It is not 30-50 pages that just define showerheads, as the EO falsely claims.
The 1992 bill limited showerhead water flow to 2.5 gallons per minute. In 2013, the Obama administration updated the rule to limit the flow to the entire showerhead fixture, without regard to the number of nozzles. Trump undid it in 2020, but much of the industry did not follow. Biden again reversed it in 2021. April’s EO reinstated Trump’s 2020 change that allows 2.5 GPM without regard to the number of nozzles. Colorado’s standard (adopted in 2014) is 2.0 GPM.
The varying administrations’ back and forth reflects differing views on the balance of consumer choice, government regulation, and water and energy conservation. Trump’s actions do little to change that.
Yes, a strong shower feels good and low-flow nozzles don’t necessarily equate to weaker showers. The culprit is most likely low water pressure. And despite the recent soaking we’ve received, 70% of La Plata County remains in severe drought and 30% in moderate drought. The City of Durango was wise to get ahead of summer with its May 20 News Flash asking residents to be mindful of water use (Herald, May 27).
The Herald’s editorial board encourages residents to be more than mindful and follow city guidelines for lawns and landscaping, and indoor water use. With showers accounting for nearly 17% of indoor use for the average family (40 gallons per day equaling 1.2 trillion gallons annually), we all can and should do more, regardless of what the president says and does. See the city’s guidance at bit.ly/4jE8f0z which includes how and when to water lawns, fixing leaks and a link to more water conservation tips that, yes, include using low-flow showerheads.
