New York Showerhead Restrictions

Over in the Gothamist Forum yesterday, Larry asked what kind of water restrictions New York has on shower heads. Of course, we all remember the classic Seinfeld episode where Jerry's building puts low-flow heads into the building to the dismay of Jerry, Kramer, and Newman. After doing a little research, Gothamist found an answer for Larry.

On the New York City DEP website, there's a handy list of restrictions on water usage in a normal situation as well as drought conditions. In the city, sale or installation of showerheads that use more than 2.5 gallons of water per minutes is prohibited. During any type of drought restriction, all showerheads must use 2.5 gpm or less. And if you're thinking of removing a water restricting showerhead, be aware that if you replace it with something that doesn't meet standards, you're subject to a summons after being served with a warning.

If a warning just isn't enough to curb your desire for a more water consuming showerhead, there's also a potential cost savings. Besides the obvious use of less water (water actually costs money, you know), you can save a lot of energy with efficient showerheads. According to Flex Your Power, about 73% of water used in a typical shower is hot water. With the cost of heating that water growing more and more expensive, any way you use less could save you a good amount of money.

And if you really need that high-powered shower, there are plenty of showerheads out there now that makes it feel like you're using a lot of water when you're actually using an efficient showerhead.

Photo by Rachelle Bowden