- The Washington Times - Friday, July 16, 2021

President Biden is bringing back low-flow showers of the Obama years.

The administration announced Friday that it will reverse a Trump-era loosening of restrictions on how much water can flow out of a showerhead.

The Energy Department said it will take steps to drop the rule, which changed how water flow was calculated in homes and other structures. A meeting to discuss the change is scheduled for August 31.

Former President Donald Trump changed the regulations, first established in 2013, to allow more water flow from showerheads per minute.

Mr. Trump frequently complained about water standards, saying it messed up his hair.

“Showerheads — 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. Perfect,” he said last year.

Under the Obama-era regulation, all showerheads in a structure could not combine for an output of more than 2.5 gallons per minute, which was intended as a conservation measure.

Mr. Trump changed the rule so that the 2.5-gallon limit applied to all of the showerheads individually instead of collectively. The move increased water flow in showerheads.

At the time, environmental and energy groups opposed the move, saying it would waste water.

Mr. Biden will again classify all showerheads as the same, limiting the flow to a combined 2.5 gallons, restricting water flow.

In its proposal, the Energy Department said it doesn’t expect the rule change to impact the current market because it couldn’t find any new showerheads introduced to the market after Mr. Trump changed the rules.

• Jeff Mordock can be reached at jmordock@washingtontimes.com.

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