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Three billion gallons of water flow through showerheads every day in this country--half of it unnecessarily. Most showerheads use twice the water needed for a thorough, enjoyable shower.

This drain on one of our most precious resources, clean water, exacts an unnecessary toll on both the environment and your pocketbook. To get clean water, we tap lakes, build dams and reservoirs and construct processing plants. By using more than we need, we overload sewer and septic systems and leach fields. Both the water itself and the energy needed to heat it cost you money.

What can you do? Think globally; act locally. Take this very easy step-- convert your showerheads to low-flow models. This takes a few minutes and costs a few dollars. For an investment of $10 or less you can save $50 to $75 per year on water bills and $20 to $50 or more per year on energy bills (depending on your current showerhead and utility rates). Every new showerhead should pay for itself the first year.

Several states have initiated laws that require water-saving toilets and showerheads be installed in new construction. Other pending congressional legislation would set national water-conserving standards for plumbing fixtures and require their installation in new construction.

Types and features
There are two main types of showerheads: the regular stationary type and hand-held models attached to a flexible hose. Most hand-held showerheads can be clipped onto a wall-mounted hanger, swivel or bar for hands-free showering. The flexible hose screws directly onto the shower arm, onto a diverter valve between a standard showerhead and the shower arm or onto a deck-mounted diverter valve on a bathtub.

Hand-held models a little more versatile and save more water because they direct the flow to where you want it. They also offer a slight energy savings because the water travels a shorter distance between the showerhead and your body, cooling less in the air--this means you can adjust the temperature slightly lower.

Prices for low-flow heads range from less than $5 for simple, no-frills plastic ones to more than $100 for designer heads. The cost of a particular showerhead has little to do with how well it delivers a satisfying shower. It's more a gauge of features and the construction materials and finish.

One of the main features of showerheads is the ability to adjust spray settings--narrow to wide, spray only, pulse and so forth. This is handy if different family members like different types of spray. The easiest types to use are those that have an adjustment ring or lever on the outside of the head--so you don't have to reach into the center of the water stream to adjust them.

One other handy, water-saving feature is a shutoff at the head. This cuts water to a trickle while you soap-up or wash pets or kids.

There are two other devices that aren't really showerheads but help save water in the shower: flow-control inserts (basically a washer with a small hole to reduce water flow) and control valves that reduce flow and provide on-off control above the head. These fit between the shower pipe (arm) and showerhead.

What is low flow?
Showerheads are measured by flow--the number of gallons they deliver per minute (gpm). Flow is affected by water pressure, measured in pounds per square inch (psi). The greater the pressure pushing water through pipes and showerheads, the greater the volume of water forced out.

Water pressure on the high side-- 80 psi, for example-- will push a greater amount of water through a showerhead than low water pressure, say 20 psi. This same principle is in effect when you don't turn on the water full blast. Water pressure varies from community to community and even from house to house.

A few years ago, showerheads delivered about 5 to 8 gallons per minute (gpm) at 80 psi. The current standard for low-flow heads is 2.5 gpm at 80 psi.

It's easy to judge your present showerhead's flow rate. Just hold a gallon container under the head and clock the time it takes to fill it. If it fills up in fifteen seconds, the flow rate is about 4 gpm. If it's full in ten seconds, the flow rate is closer to 6 gpm. With a low-flow head, it should take 24 seconds or more.

A quality showerhead will feel good at both high and low water pressures. Some have flow restrictors that can be reversed or removed to allow more water through on low-pressure lines, allowing you to achieve the right amount of water flow for your water pressure. Others have restrictors that work automatically. For example, Teledyne Water Pik offers one highly rated "Shower Massage" showerhead that automatically senses the available water pressure and adjusts to deliver 2.5 g.p.m.

No more trickle-down
Early low-flow showerheads simply blocked some of the water flow. This solution was okay for saving water but took the joy out of showering beneath a robust blast of water. Newer heads are different. Manufacturers have met the challenge to both conserve and offer a satisfying shower by engineering the movement of water, sending it through special orifices that control droplet size, focus the stream, and--in some cases-- increase the blast by mixing in air, creating turbulence or pulsing.

What about scalding?
Because low-flow heads deliver less water, they're more likely to scald you if a toilet is flushed, suddenly dropping the pressure of cold water in the system. Scalding shouldn't occur in bathrooms served by ample piping (3/4-inch supplies) or where thermostatic mixing valves, anti-scald vales or pressure-balancing valves have been installed.

If your shower water currently rises in temperature when someone flushes the toilet, you can have a plumber install an anti-scald valve. Or you can try lowering the water-heater temperature to about 120 degrees.

Easy installation
Installing a new showerhead is usually just a matter of unscrewing the old one from the existing shower arm and screwing on the new head. If the existing arm ends in a ball joint, you'll have to remove and replace the arm-- also an easy job.

Most showerheads come with easy-to-follow instructions for installation. Some old heads will unscrew from the inlet pipe by hand, for others you might require the help of an adjustable wrench. For a particularly balky head, you might need a large pliers or small pipe wrench to hold the inlet (put a rag between the jaws so you don't scratch the finish) while you turn the head counterclockwise.

Most directions call for wrapping the threads of the inlet pipe with pipe-wrap tape before screwing on the new head.