It takes a lot of power to move water. According to the EPA, the energy required supplying drinking water and process waste uses the same amount of electricity as 5 million homes for an entire year.

That doesn’t even count the energy used to heat water for use in homes and buildings. In homes using electricity to heat water, the EPA says 40 percent of the energy is used to heat water.

The Water/Energy Nexus may not yet be in the common green lexicon along with “climate change” and “carbon footprint,” but it will be. Water-related energy accounts for four percent of the nation’s annual energy use.

By replacing just 10 percent of US homes with water saving products, the EPA estimates that the annual reduction in carbon emissions would the same as removing 15,000 cars from the road.