Monitoring Consistency – WQA’s programs conduct annual inspections to verify that the products being manufactured are not only being consistently made, but are made in the same way as the product was built when it underwent testing and evaluation.

Many U.S. and Canadian codes and regulations require products to meet NSF standards or, more accurately, the ANAB-accredited and public domain NSF/ANSI standards. People are often confused into thinking that products then must have “NSF certification.” This is not correct. It is important to understand the distinction between standards and certification.

Multi-faceted Certification – Not only are the products tested extensively to evaluate things such as the structural integrity, the product’s ability to reduce contaminants and the safety of the materials that come into contact with water, but the literature is also reviewed to ensure that it meets a specific set of requirements as well.

The concept and theme of superpowers are present in pretty much any form of media, having been popularized to the point of spawning superpower-based tropes, stereotypes, and archetypes. The most common one is the 'superhero genre', where superheroes are superhumans that use their powers and abilities for the good of humanity while supervillains end up causing destruction. However, some superheroes don't need superpowers, and rather rely on fancy gadgets or advanced technology to perform superhuman feats. Superpowers are also present in the form of supernatural traits or divine powers in theologies, religious texts, folklore, and mythologies. Additionally, they can take the form of the mystical and esoteric, or purely anomalous and enigmatic.

Superpowers are defined as powers and abilities that are beyond humans and nature, entailing capabilities that are fantastical, paranormal, and extraordinary. Superpowers are extremely diverse and all-encompassing, from the mundane to the almighty, there is no limit for what superpowers are.

The Gold Seal provides independent verification that products such as drinking water treatment units, drinking water system components, chemicals, and water softeners have been proven effective at reducing certain contaminants.

The Gold Seal and Sustainability Marketing Toolkit provides ideas and examples of how to effectively market the Gold Seal and Sustainability logos so that companies with certified products can leverage their certifications to sell more products.

WQA’s Gold Seal is the oldest third-party testing and certification program in the water treatment industry. The easily recognized Gold Seal mark lets consumers know right up front that products have been tested to recognized industry standards.

Product certification indicates a third-party organization has monitored the manufacturer’s operations to ensure they meet guidelines for manufacturing processes and materials used. Products are tested to ensure compliance with industry standards, performance and certification requirements.

In pop culture and mainstream media, superpowers usually don't stray too far from what is called 'stock superpowers', essentially superpowers that are extremely prevalent in any supernatural setting. These include, but are not limited to, flight, inhuman physical strength, mind reading and control, telekinesis, manipulating natural elements, transforming into animals or beasts, and basically any form of energy-based attacks.

The Water Quality Association (WQA), like other testing and certification agencies, is fully accredited by ANAB and SCC. The WQA Gold Seal Program tests and certifies drinking water treatment units, drinking water system components and other products to NSF/ANSI standards.

Some are more concrete and natural (i.e. Urban Manipulation, Wood Manipulation), some are more intrinsic and conceptual (i.e. Axiom Manipulation, Dimensional Manipulation). Some are more action-based (i.e. Attack Powers, Bullet Hell), some are more 'slice of life'-like (i.e. Charm Mode, Musical Mastery). Some are related to real life creatures (i.e. Dermal Armor, Claw Retraction), some are totally eldritch and alien (i.e. Organic Abomination, Alien Mind). Some are more scientific (i.e. Nano-Active Blood, Scalar Wave Manipulation), some are more fantastical (i.e. Will-O'-The-Wisp Physiology, Sands of Time Manipulation). Some are centered on a single object or theme (i.e. Door Manipulation, Martial Arts Manipulation), some are all-encompassing (i.e. Omni-Manipulation, Alpha Reality).

Manufacturers and suppliers can seek Gold Seal certification for most products that contact household water. Certification covers everything from chemicals to plumbing components to filtration systems and water softeners.

The legal right to display the Gold Seal or Sustainability registered trademarks is one of the benefits of having a product certified through WQA’s Gold Seal or Sustainability programs. The marks distinguish products from those that have not obtained independent, third-party certification.

Become a market leader with WQA’s Gold Seal and Sustainability product certification programs. Reach out to an account representative today!

Buying Power – A certified product bears a distinguished Mark indicating that the product has undergone evaluation and testing to verify that the product will perform as the certified claims indicate. The Gold Seal and Sustainability Mark provide consumers a very simple way to recognize products that will perform the way the packaging indicates they will.

Peace of Mind – WQA Certification provides end users, retailers and regulators the benefit of knowing that an accredited third party has evaluated not only a product’s capability of passing rigorous testing according to industry standards, but that the process in which certified products are made is reproducible.

Standards are detailed and rigorous and specific to the products certified. Standards cover many different water treatment technologies; some standards cover UV disinfection while other ensure that reverse osmosis systems perform as claimed. Certification also helps verify that manufacturers have good customer service measures in place and offer adequate product literature or information as well.

For information on the Gold Seal and Sustainability program’s financial support and certification fees, please email goldseal@wqa.org

As mentioned above, there is no real limit to what superpowers are and can do. They have limitless applications which are fundamentally based on aspects of humanity and existence, from individualistic attributes such as advanced skills, extraordinary senses, and enhanced intelligence, to humanity's creations, the natural world and beyond. Such superpowers can range from controlling buildings, to mastering the art of business making, to altering fiction and reality as one pleases. Superpowers are not solely based on abilities, any can include supernatural physical qualities and appearances, such as Tiger Physiology and Metal Mimicry.

Superpowers can be generally divided into two over-arching groups: superpowers that have to do with oneself and superpowers that have to do with everything else.

Note: This doesn't include every power/ability that exists or is archived on this wiki. For browsing all powers/abilities that have been archived, click here. For browsing non-mainspace powers/abilities and other superpower-related projects, click here

All in all, superpowers are generally anything that is supernatural and superhuman, playing a wide variety of roles in storytelling, and encompass everything in existence, from the mundane and common, to the esoteric and almighty.

The WQA Sustainability Certification Program provides third-party verification that a product is environmentally responsible in all phases of its life cycle: from raw materials, production, distribution, use-phase, all the way through to end-of-life disposal.

Once companies go through this demanding process, they must retest their certified products regularly and submit to annual facility inspections to ensure that the products continue to meet or exceed industry standards

Regulatory Requirements – Some states or local cities have specific regulations that require certification for the ability to sell legally in that jurisdiction.

Other than superpowers, superhuman feats may also be achieved through advanced science and technology, phlebotinum (materials with supernatural properties), magic and spells, biological mutations, anomalous nature, supernatural entities, and many many more. Moreover, superpowers might not only be possessed by humans in a certain setting, and can be held by animals, robots, relics, clothing, weapons, etc.