LAS VEGAS, Oct. 6, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Delta Faucet Company , America's faucet innovation leader, has been named 2011 WaterSense Manufacturer Partner of the Year by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The manufacturer of Delta®, Brizo® and Peerless® branded products was recognized for its outstanding support of the WaterSense program and ongoing commitment to promoting advancements in water efficiency. Paul Patton, senior product development manager, accepted the award on behalf of Delta Faucet Company at the 2011 WaterSmart Innovations Conference and Exposition annual awards banquet in Las Vegas on October 5. The WaterSense program, a partnership program by the EPA, aims to protect the future of the U.S. water supply by providing people with easy and identifiable ways to conserve water. In addition, the program helps consumers make smart water choices in order to maintain high environmental standards and save money without compromising performance. Launched in 2008, the WaterSense Partner of the Year awards recognize partners that help advance the overall mission of the WaterSense program, demonstrate overall excellence in the water-efficiency arena and increase awareness of the WaterSense brand in a measurable way. Each year, the program recognizes just one manufacturer that demonstrates exceptional performance in each of these areas. A WaterSense partner since the program's inception, Delta Faucet Company is a pioneer in the advancement of performance standards for water-saving products and has developed several groundbreaking technologies that help promote water conservation in the bath. Its proprietary H2Okinetic Technology®, for example, is an innovative shower technology that uniquely shapes and affects the water it delivers to create larger water droplets that retain heat longer for a more drenching shower experience. Using this technology on a shower flowing at a rate of 1.5 gallons per minute (gpm) allows consumers to reduce their water usage without compromising their shower experience. In the absence of WaterSense specifications for kitchen faucets, Delta Faucet Company has taken the initiative to develop products that provide water-efficiency in this space. The Delta brand introduced its unique Multi-Flow™ feature as a potential water-saving solution for kitchen faucets. The Multi-Flow wand enables consumers to toggle easily between spray and stream functionality. For ordinary tasks, the standard flow rate is a water-efficient 1.5 gpm, which saves up to 32 percent over the industry standard 2.2 gpm in the kitchen. Ongoing ethnographic research, in-home interviews, focus groups, and retail shadowing ensure consumer needs are being met throughout the development of new advancements in water-saving technologies, like these, and also helps influence the creation of new products designed to conserve water.
