PHOTO, FROM LEFT: Conservation Specialist (WCS) Ed Bugbee, Water Conservation Manager Debra Burden, WCS Thomas McConnell, WCS Regonald West, and Florida-Friendly Landscaping Coordinator Steven Davis.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has recognized Citrus County with a 2022 WaterSense Sustained Excellence Award for helping people save water.
In recognition of its commitment to promoting WaterSense and water efficiency in 2021, Citrus County was honored today during the WaterSmart Innovations (WSI) Conference and Exposition in Las Vegas, along with 33 other awardees - utilities, manufacturers, builders, retailers,and other organizations that partner with WaterSense to promote water-efficient products, homes, and programs.
WaterSense, a voluntary partnership program sponsored by EPA, is both a label for water-efficient products, programs, and homes and a resource for helping consumers learn ways to save water. Since 2006, more than 2,100 WaterSense partners and over 40,000 models of certified water-efficient plumbing and irrigation products have helped consumers and businesses save 6.4 trillion gallons of water—enough water to supply all households in the United States with water for eight months.
In addition to water savings, WaterSense has helped reduce the amount of energy needed to pump, treat, and heat water by 754 billion kilowatt hours and helped consumers save $135 billion in water and energy bills. These savings also helped prevent 288 million metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions, which is equivalent to planting 4.8 billion trees!
“Throughout 2021, our award-winning partners helped people protect this precious resource by promoting WaterSense labeled products and water-efficient behaviors,” said Veronica Blette, Chief, WaterSense Branch. “Saving water is particularly critical in areas impacted by drought, but is also a path to helping consumers stretch dollars by reducing their water and energy bills.”
WaterSense honored Citrus County as a 2022 Sustained Excellence Partner for its continued efforts to promote water efficiency through youth initiatives like the Drop Savers Poster Contest and Toilet Leak Detection Challenge. The County also continued its WaterSense Labeled Irrigation Controller Installation Program.
The initiative provided onsite training on how to program controllers, and employees performed an irrigation check up with the homeowner. Over 200 homeowners participated, and more than 75 percent of them found they reduced outdoor water use.
“Water Sense continues to make choosing water-efficient products easier and worthwhile for our customers. With over 1,000 WaterSense labeled irrigation controllers installed in recent years, customers are saving tens of millions of gallons annually,” said Debra Burden, Water Conservation Manager with the Citrus County Department of Water Resources.
For more information about WaterSense, visit www.epa.gov/watersense.