Trump says he’s making showers great again by rolling back water-wise regulations

In a bit of good news for lovers of long showers, President Donald Trump signed an executive order Wednesday rescinding Obama-Biden era regulations on showerheads, promising to end what he called a “radical green agenda” that limited water flow.

The order directs the Energy Department to immediately revert to the straightforward meaning of “showerhead” from the 1992 energy law, which sets a 2.5-gallons-per-minute standard for individual shower nozzles rather than entire fixtures.

“Americans pay for their own water and should be free to choose their showerheads without federal meddling,” Trump said at the signing ceremony. “No longer will showerheads be weak and worthless.”

The Obama administration in 2013 redefined “showerhead” to apply the 2.5-gallon limit collectively to all nozzles in a fixture. This meant that shower systems with multiple heads could not exceed 2.5 gallons per minute in total, restricting the use of luxury shower systems with multiple spray nozzles.

The Biden administration further solidified these restrictions in 2021 when it reversed a Trump-era rule that had temporarily allowed each nozzle to spray up to 2.5 gallons individually. The Biden definition, which Trump criticized as “a staggering 13,000 words,” maintained that multiple nozzles in a single shower fixture must collectively adhere to the 2.5-gallon limit.

Environmental advocates quickly criticized the change, pointing to the trillion gallons of water Americans already use annually for showering and ongoing drought conditions in Western states.

Industry experts note the average American spends 8.2 minutes in the shower using about 17 gallons of water. A typical family of four consumes approximately 40 gallons daily just for showering.

The order represents Trump’s latest effort to roll back regulations he claims harm consumer choice and economic freedom, following similar actions on dishwashers, washing machines and other household appliances.