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EPA’s WaterSense Program Recognizes Texas AandM AgriLife Center for National Excellence in Education

Release Date: 10/10/2014
Contact Information: Jennah Durant or Joe Hubbard, [email protected] or 214 665-2200

DALLAS – (Oct. 10, 2014) The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced its 2014 WaterSense Partners of the Year for their commitment to promoting water efficiency and strengthening the resilience of communities across the country. The Texas A&M AgriLife Research and Extension Center in Dallas was also recognized for excellence in outreach and education.

The center was awarded for their efforts to advance and promote the WaterSense program and water efficiency. Among Texas A&M AgriLife’s achievements include transforming an on-campus home to demonstrate the benefits of indoor and outdoor water savings, holding classes and trainings for landscape and irrigation professionals, participating in regional outreach events, and even touring across Texas with an 8’ x 12’ model WaterSense labelled home.

The award winners’ efforts, along with those of more than 1,500 other WaterSense partners, have helped Americans save 757 billion gallons of water and $14.2 billion in water and energy bills since 2006.

WaterSense, a partnership program led by EPA, seeks to protect the future of our nation's water supply by offering people a simple way to use less water with water-efficient products, homes, and services.

"EPA is pleased to honor this impressive group of WaterSense program leaders”, said Ken Kopocis, Deputy Assistant Administrator in EPA’s Office of Water. “Their efforts to build strong, resilient water systems are helping communities nationwide meet challenges of extreme storms, drought, and other effects of our changing climate.”

EPA announced the 2014 Partners of the Year during a WaterSense awards ceremony at the WaterSmart Innovations Conference in Las Vegas, Nevada. The Alliance for Water Efficiency and the Southern Nevada Water Authority cosponsored the ceremony, which recognized organizations for their efforts in 2013.

2014 Sustained Excellence Award Winner:

Kohler Co. received the highest level of WaterSense recognition for the second year in a row for continuing to implement new, innovative technologies. One example is a dual-flush trip lever for tank-type toilets that makes selecting a smaller flush easier for those with dexterity challenges. Kohler also promoted WaterSense labeled products in 2013 with its cross-country “Trust the Flush” bus tour to showcase WaterSense labeled toilets’ proven performance at more than 185 events.

2014 Partners of the Year:

Promotional Partner of the Year: Cobb County (Ga.) Water System’s robust rebate program for WaterSense labeled toilets contributed to a decrease in the county’s annual average daily water use by 10 million gallons per day compared to 2010. This is the third WaterSense Promotional Partner of the Year award for Cobb County, which also promoted WaterSense campaigns in its Water $aver quarterly e-newsletter and via Twitter with the #fixaleak and #showerbetter hashtags.

Promotional Partner of the Year: Colorado Springs (Colo.) Utilities earned its second WaterSense Promotional Partner of the Year award by hosting more than 20,000 visitors in its Conservation and Environmental Center. The center displayed WaterSense labeled products, a water savings comparison between labeled products and less efficient fixtures, and facts about the water, energy and cost savings achieved with WaterSense labeled products.

Manufacturer Partner of the Year: Delta Faucet Company, a three-time Manufacturer Partner of the Year, created an online faucet video gallery and website that featured WaterSense labeled products in more than 20 videos, collectively receiving more than 38,000 views.

Manufacturer Partner of the Year: HydroPoint Data Systems helped customers sustain their water savings in 2013 with the release of a Water Budget Manager tool that allows users to see, track and report a landscape’s water consumption and water bills after installing WaterSense labeled irrigation controllers.

Retailer Partner of the Year: The Home Depot was recognized by EPA for the third time for its strong efforts to support rebate programs across the country for WaterSense labeled toilets, showerheads and irrigation controllers, helping consumers achieve more than $36 million in product markdowns.

Builder Partner of the Year: KB Home won its fourth consecutive WaterSense Builder Partner of the Year award and broke new ground in 2013 with the introduction of its Double ZeroHouse 2.0 concept to increase water efficiency and other resource savings.

Professional Certifying Organization Partner of Year: The Irrigation Association received its second award for its efforts to educate irrigation professionals and contractors about WaterSense and cross-promote WaterSense’s Sprinkler Spruce-Up alongside its Smart Irrigation Month campaign.

Professional Certifying Organization Partner of Year: Sonoma-Marin (Calif.) Saving Water Partnership worked with other professional certifying organizations to collectively certify nearly 200 irrigation professionals as part of its WaterSense labeled certification program in 2013, bringing the total number of certified professionals to 837.

Licensed Certification Provider Partner of the Year: Energy Inspectors Corporation inspected 51 WaterSense labeled new homes in 2013 and collaborated with KB Home to educate homeowners about the water- and energy-saving benefits of WaterSense labeled models.

Six Excellence Awards were also given to partners for their efforts in specific program areas:

· Athens-Clarke County (Ga.) Public Utilities Department, San Francisco Public Utilities Commission, and Texas A&M AgriLife Research and Extension Center in Dallas for Excellence in Outreach and Education

· Denver Water for Excellence in Strategic Collaboration

· Puget Sound Energy (Wash.) for Excellence in Promoting WaterSense labeled Products