News
Jul 27, 2022
KB Home Commits to EPA’s Highest Water-Efficiency Standards in Drought-Stricken States
Every home in future Arizona, California, and Nevada communities will be WaterSense labeled and rated using the RESNET HERSH2O system.
By Symone Strong
KB Home announced that every home built in future Arizona, California, and Nevada communities will be WaterSense labeled, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) highest standard for water efficiency and performance.
These homes, in some of the most drought-stricken areas of the country, will be rated using the RESNET HERSH2O system, which is said to help homeowners use less water as well as spend less money on utility bills.
“In many areas of the U.S., the frequency, intensity, and duration of drought events have been increasing. Water is not something we can take for granted,” says Jeffrey Mezger, chairman, president, and CEO of KB Home. “In 2010, KB Home delivered the first WaterSense-labeled home in the nation because we understood that this approach would help reduce the use of a precious natural resource, save our homeowners on utility costs, and mitigate drought conditions.”
According to the EPA, WaterSense-labeled homes use at least 30% less water than a typical home and can save a household 50,000 gallons of water annually, on average. To date, KB Home has built over 18,000 WaterSense-labeled and water-smart homes and installed over 900,000 WaterSense-labeled fixtures. The company estimates that these homes, together with the fixtures within them, conserve approximately 1.6 billion gallons of water annually.
“Water is an essential part of our daily lives, and EPA’s WaterSense program helps residents and businesses conserve this vital resource,” says Radhika Fox, assistant administrator for water at the EPA. “KB Home is a long-time WaterSense partner and seven-time recipient of the WaterSense Sustained Excellence Award. Their commitment to build homes in the Southwest that meet WaterSense criteria will help combat the megadrought in the West.”
More recently, KB Home implemented EPA’s new WaterSense Labeled Homes Program, Version 2.0, which was released in February 2021. The program was piloted in the Las Vegas area, and preliminary field data collected by the EPA confirms that homeowners are seeing significant savings. These homes built by KB had a median water use of just 44,000 gallons of water per year compared with the 97,000 gallons per year or more used by typical homes in the region—a 55% reduction in use.