In early March, the state of Georgia enacted the Water Stewardship Bill, a comprehensive law which requires higher efficiency standards for toilets, faucets, urinals, cooling towers, metering and a state-wide outside watering schedule.

Only two other U.S. states, California and Texas, have adopted similar high efficiency plumbing standards. These take place in 2014. Georgia’s new law goes a step further by requiring compliance by July, 2012.

Georgia is also the first state to require by law the sub-metering of multi-unit, residential, commercial and industrial buildings in addition to billing based on actual water use.