2018 WaterSense Excellence Award Winners re Saving for Our Future For a dozen years, WaterSense and its more than 1,900 partners have been transforming the market for water-efficient products, homes, and services. By offering simple ways to reduce water use, WaterSense helps Americans save water for future generations. Through the end of 2017, WaterSense had helped Americans save a total of 2.7 trillion gallons of water and more than $63.8 billion in water and energy bills. These savings could not be realized without the innovation and commitment of WaterSense partners. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is pleased to recognize eight Excellence Award winners for helping to advance specific aspects of the WaterSense program in 2017. EXCELLENCE IN OUTREACH AND EDUCATION City of Durham (North Carolina) Water Management Three-time Excellence Award winner City of Durham Water Management had another excellent year of education and outreach. Many participants in each of 312 residential and commercial water use assessments received free WaterSense labeled showerheads and water-saving tips. During Fix a Leak Week in March, a banner was hung inside City Hall, materials were distributed to local students, and the department partnered with Lowe's Home Improvement to offer conservation clinics to more than 100 residents. The City also created and posted three YouTube videos on finding and fixing common household leaks. To promote WaterSense labeled toilets, the City spread the word about its WaterSense labeled toilet rebate program and rebated over 700 WaterSense labeled models. Additionally, the department held pop-up events throughout the city to promote WaterSense's Shower Better and Better Bathroom campaigns and distributed over 200 WaterSense labeled showerheads. The City of Durham participated in the 2017 Wyland National Mayor's Challenge for Water Conservation. To get residents to accept the challenge, the City ran television and online ads that featured WaterSense and had nearly two million impressions. These efforts led to success, as Durham ranked sixth nationwide in the Challenge among cities of a similar size! Sacramento (California) Suburban Water District Over the course of 2017, Sacramento Suburban Water District (SSWD) made the promotion of WaterSense a primary initiative of its conservation and communications campaigns. SSWD used a variety of communications channels to promote water conservation and WaterSense. For Fix a Leak Week, SSWD ran full-page ads in local newspapers and geo-targeted ads on Facebook and various websites through the Google Display Network. It produced an article on how to be a Leak Detective that ran DURHAM 1 8 6 9 CUV OF MEDICINE WAT E R DISTRICT PHONE (866) WTR-SENS (987-7367) WEBSITE www.epa.gov/watersense EMAIL watersense@epa.gov &EPA EPA-832-F-18-009 October 2018 ------- 2018 Excellence Award Winners Are Saving for Our Future in a local paper and featured a story in its monthly bill insert, which is distributed to 40,000 customers. Fix a Leak Week graphics were also printed on billing envelopes and promoted on the front page of the SSWD website, and more than 5,700 residents received notification cards that they might have leaks in their homes. For Sprinkler Spruce-Up, SSWD raised awareness through a combined online and print advertising campaign, newspaper articles, in its monthly bill insert, and online In addition, SSWD partnered with a local park district to develop and launch a new series of water-wise demonstration landscapes to inspire the public. The grand opening event for the Gardens at Howe Park featured a ribbon cutting ceremony, presentations by local officials, and a display of water-efficient irrigation systems including WaterSense labeled weather-based irrigation controllers. City of Frisco (Texas) With a variety of events, educational efforts, and workshops, the City of Frisco reached more than 30,000 people with water-saving tips. For Fix a Leak Week 2017, the Frisco City Council announced an official proclamation and ran ads on TV screens in the library, City Hall, and in the public works office building. Tips to find and fix water leaks were featured in the weekly WaterWise newsletter with a reach of more than 16,000 citizens. The City also attended a local health fair at a senior center and held two workshops during the week educating attendees on how to find and fix leaks at home. Frisco's staff conducted several workshops that provided participants with step-by-step guidance on how to program an irrigation controller. These irrigation workshops were so popular they were later adopted by Oklahoma City and Fort Worth (Texas). For Sprinkler Spruce-Up, the City continued its Free Sprinkler System Check-Up Program, performing over 3,700 assessments and demonstrating outdoor water efficiency techniques that could reduce water use about 35 percent. EXCELLENCE IN STRATEGIC COLLABORATION Alliance for Water Efficiency The Alliance for Water Efficiency (AWE) continued its strategic collaboration with a number of organizations to promote water efficiency and WaterSense, especially when it comes to outdoor water use. AWE worked with WaterSense to provide a series of webinars focused on outdoor water efficiency, which reached approximately 400 attendees in 2017. AWE partnered with American Water, Rachio, and WaterDM to publish a report on peak day water demand that highlighted how using WaterSense labeled irrigation controllers can shift loads and reduce peak demand. AWE also collaborated with WaterDM on an analysis of Tucson and Gilbert in Arizona and determined that the positive impacts of decades-long water conservation efforts, including installation of WaterSense labeled products, were able to keep water rates significantly lower than if no water conservation measures were implemented. Additionally, AWE collaborated with several stakeholders to release a U.S. and Canadian version of an easy-to-use commercial kitchen guide designed to help managers make water-efficient decisions for their facilities. EXCELLENCE IN PROMOTING WATERSENSE LABELED PRODUCTS Sonoma Marin Saving Water Partnership The Sonoma Marin Saving Water Partnership (SMSWP) in Santa Rosa, California, won its fourth Excellence Award, due in part to its commitment to promoting WaterSense labeled products to both residents and businesses. During Fix a Leak Week 2017, the Partnership sponsored a "sticky note" on the front page of Santa Rosa's The Press Democrat newspaper. SMSWP worked with the Sonoma County Green Business Program, which certifies local businesses for sustainable business practices, to distribute free WaterSense labeled faucet aerators and showerheads during 115 commercial audits completed in 2017. The Partnership continued to offer free Water Smart Home Evaluations, providing The City of Frisco performed free home irrigation system check-ups for residents during Sprinkler Spruce-Up. Alliance Water Efficiency lk Detective L Fix a Leak Week ~ Nil for unexpected Learn more at wateroff.org Front page Fix a Leak Week "sticky note" ad. 2 ------- 2018 Excellence Award Winners Are Saving for Our Future free WaterSense labeled showerheads and faucet aerators to more than 3,000 homes in 2017. SMSWP also makes DIY Home Energy and Water Savings Toolkits available at local libraries for residents to check out. Each kit contains items used to measure water and energy usage along with WaterSense labeled showerheads and aerators for residents to keep. And through its rebate program and direct installs, the Partnership encouraged replacement of more than 4,300 old, inefficient toilets with WaterSense labeled models in 2017. EXCELLENCE IN EDUCATION AND PUBLIC RELATIONS The Toro Company The Toro Company received its third Excellence Award—and its fourth WaterSense Award overall—for education and outreach efforts ranging from scholarships for students to attend the Irrigation Association Show, to sponsorship of the award-winning Water Zone radio show. The show discusses water-saving outdoor practices and products to an ever-growing audience of 5 million people. In 2017, Toro increased its social media activity related to water efficiency, including more than 45 posts on topics such as Fix a Leak Week and smart irrigation. The company also participated in or conducted dozens of training programs featuring WaterSense labeled products, reaching several thousand homeowners and professionals. And the WaterSmart.Toro.com website topped more than 1 million visitors since it was launched in 2015. EXCELLENCE IN LABELED PRODUCTS IN THE MARKETPLACE Hunter Industries became the first manufacturer to earn the WaterSense label for irrigation spray sprinkler bodies. These devices regulate pressure to minimize outdoor water waste in irrigation systems. Noticing that many contractors were reluctant to install Wi-Fi-enabled weather-based irrigation controllers, Hunter also conducted extensive research to understand the barriers to uptake of the products. Based on the results, Hunter developed a new weather-based controller that better manages the needs of contractors with flow meter connection capabilities, failure reporting, and daily watering schedule modifications based on local conditions. Several of the 19 WaterSense labeled models Hunter launched in 2017 were engineered with these water-saving features to encourage best practices for irrigation management within the complex systems that contractors encounter. EXCELLENCE IN CERTIFICATION PROGRAM GROWTH San Diego County (California) Water Authority The San Diego County Water Authority administers the WaterSense labeled Qualified Water Efficient Landscaper (QWEL) certification program in its 950,000-acre service area. As one of the first QWEL providers in Southern California, the Water Authority helped to greatly expand the program's branded reach and educational outcomes. The Water Authority also serves as a c . member on the QWEL Advisory Board. In 2017, the Water Authority offered 12 classes for more ban Diego County J Water Authority than 200 landscape professionals. Of these,145 were QWEL certified, bringing the region's total certifications to more than 470 since 2016. Two of San Diego's 2017 classes were in Spanish, and three classes were offered through local college horticulture courses. The Water Authority promoted its QWEL training program in collaboration with landscape contractors, trade associations, faith-based organizations, garden clubs, adult education, and English-as-a-Second-Language programs. Toro received the Congressional Recognition Award sponsored by Ken Calvert for The Water Zone. Hunter Industries Hunter )UR GUIDING PRINCIPLES <5ss is founded on a long histor\ } :'y- i Toro Corn' sed on y > build [trusted Learn More WaterSense congratulates all of the 2018 Excellence Award winners. For more information and to learn about all the benefits of partnership, visit www.epa.gov/watersense. 3 ------- |