At the WaterSmart Innovations (WSI) Conference and Exposition in Las Vegas, Nv., the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) presented 34 awards to its WaterSense partners to recognize their water efficiency in 2021 and their support of the partnership program.
“By working to promote the value of water efficiency, our WaterSense partners helped people save water, energy, and money—all while protecting life’s most precious resource during times of drought,” says EPA Assistant Administrator for Water Radhika Fox. “EPA appreciates WaterSense partners’ commitment to being good stewards of water.”
WaterSense is a partnership program sponsored by EPA. It acts as both a label for water-efficient products and a resource to help communities save water. WaterSense labeled products are independently certified to use 20 percent less water and perform as well or better than standard models. The program was launched in 2006, and today there are more than 40,000 labeled toilets, faucets/faucet accessories, showerheads, irrigation controllers, and spray sprinkler bodies; and more than 5,700 labeled homes.
The agency says that, together, WaterSense partners helped communities save more than 6.4 trillion gallons of water and more than $135 billion on utility bills since 2006.
This year’s winners of WaterSense awards include utilities, manufacturers, builders, a retailer, and other organizations. The awards went to those groups that promote and sell WaterSense labeled products, build WaterSense labeled homes, and operate WaterSense labeled certification programs. EPA says that the awardees initiated a variety of new programs, outreach, and education activities to engage customers and promote water conservation with WaterSense.
2022 Sustained Excellence Award Winners
The Sustained Excellence Awards commemorate the highest level of achievement for WaterSense. This year, three new WaterSense partners joined this category:
- Athens-Clarke County Public Utilities (Georgia)
- Citrus County Utilities (Florida)
- City of Charlottesville (Virginia)
- City of Plano (Texas)
- City of Sacramento Dept of Water (California)—First-time winner
- Cobb County Water System (Georgia)
- Irvine Ranch Water District (California)—First-time winner
- KB Home (California)
- Kohler Co (Wisconsin)
- Metropolitan North Georgia Water Planning District
- Sonoma-Marin Saving Water Partnership (California)
- Upper San Gabriel Valley Municipal Water District (California)—First-time winner
2022 Partner of the Year Awards
The WaterSense awards’ judging categories include strategic collaboration, education and outreach, and promoting WaterSense labeled products and programs. The Partner of the Year awards go to WaterSense partners who achieve demonstrable success in every one of these judging categories.
Utilities:
- Big Bear Lake Dept of Water and Power (California)
- City of Durham Water Management (North Carolina)
- Northern Colorado Water Conservancy District (Colorado)
- City of Fort Worth (Texas)
- Harris-Galveston Subsidence District (Texas)
- Houston Public Works (Texas)
- City of Round Rock (Texas)
Builder: Fulton Homes (Arizona)
Manufacturer: Niagara® (Texas)
Promotional: Sonoma-Marin Saving Water Partnership (California)
Retailer: The Home Depot (Georgia)
2022 Excellence Award Winners
The Excellence Awards recognize WaterSense partners who excelled in a specific area.
- Excellence in Education and Outreach - American Water (New Jersey), Department of Water, County of Kaua‘i (Hawaii), Tarrant (Texas) Regional Water District, and Walnut Valley (California) Water District
- Excellence in Engagement and Outreach - The Toro Company (Minnesota)
- Excellence in Outreach and Collaboration - Rancho California Water District
- Excellence in Promoting the EPA Multifamily Water Score - Santa Clarita Valley (California) Water Agency
- Excellence in Promoting WaterSense Labeled Products - The Broward Water Partnership (Florida)
- Excellence for Promoting WaterSense Labeled Products in the Marketplace - Smart Rain (Utah) and Sloan Valve Company (Illinois)
- Excellence in WaterSense Promotion and Outreach - G3, Green Gardens Group (California)
