Southwest | YPGG - Why Green?

SAN FRANCISCO – On 10/04/2018, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced Nogales, Arizona-based Southeast Arizona Area Health Education Center Inc. (SEAHEC) was awarded $120,000 to address drinking water and other public health challenges in a rural border-area community.

The funding is provided through EPA's Environmental Justice Collaborative Problem-Solving (EJCPS) program, which supports local organizations that develop community-driven solutions to address environmental and public health disparities in minority, low-income, tribal and indigenous communities. This year, EPA awarded $1.2 million to ten organizations around the country.

Funds from this grant will provide support for Winchester Heights in Cochise County, an unincorporated community where residents have been working with SEAHEC to improve public health. The project will support the newly established community center, assess drinking water quality and establish a Community Action Committee. The University of Arizona will provide two public health interns and a bilingual project coordinator to support the project.

“These funds will provide hands-on, in-home assistance to assess drinking water in rural Winchester Heights,” said Pacific Southwest Regional Administrator Mike Stoker, who is in Nogales this week meeting local officials and visiting border infrastructure sites. “These visits can help reduce drinking-water related illnesses by addressing faulty pipes or installing simple disinfectant water filters.”

Nationally, projects selected this year reflect an emphasis on support for rural communities and watershed protection. The 2018 awards provide up to $120,000 per project for a two-year period. Special consideration was given to projects located in rural areas, with the goal of increasing outreach and capacity building in areas where such resources can be scarce. Eight of the ten total projects awarded are in rural areas.

The 10 community projects were selected from 72 applications. For more information about today’s award winners, please visit: https://www.epa.gov/environmentaljustice/environmental-justice-collaborative-problem-solving-cooperative-agreement-3

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LOS ANGELES - The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA’s) WaterSense^®program today honored six Pacific Southwest organizations for their national leadership in water-saving solutions. The winners include KB Home, Energy Inspectors Corp., Sacramento Suburban Water District, Sonoma-Marin Saving Water Partnership, Hunter Industries and the San Diego County Water Authority.

These winners were among 20 organizations across the country, including water utilities, manufacturers and builders, honored for creating and promoting WaterSense-labeled fixtures, homes and programs.

“Water conservation is so important in the arid Southwest,” said EPA Pacific Southwest Regional Administrator Mike Stoker. “These WaterSense winners are helping families and businesses throughout our region save money and water through innovative practices and technologies.”

Nationwide, these and other WaterSense partners have helped consumers and businesses save more than 2.7 trillion gallons of water and $63.8 billion in utility bills since the program started in 2006.

2018 Sustained Excellence Award Winners

KB Home (Los Angeles, CA) earned its fourth Sustained Excellence Award for its continued commitment to building homes meeting WaterSense specifications. In addition to completing 170 WaterSense-labeled homes, the company installed WaterSense labeled plumbing fixtures in all homes it built in 2017.

Energy Inspectors Corporation (Las Vegas, NV) received its first Sustained Excellence Award. The licensed certification provider inspected and certified all the homes that WaterSense partner KB Home labeled in 2017. To increase its support for the WaterSense-labeled home market, the company trained 12 additional raters in 2017.

Sonoma-Marin (Sonoma-Marin CA) Saving Water Partnership (SMSWP) earned its second Sustained Excellence Award as a professional certifying organization for irrigation professionals looking to use water-efficient techniques. To date, SMSWP’s Qualified Water Efficient Landscaper program has certified more than 2,500 professionals.

2018 Promotional Partners of the Year, Excellence Awards

Sacramento (Sacramento, CA) Suburban Water District (SSWD)
Excellence in Education and Outreach
In 2017, SSWD made the promotion of WaterSense a priority in its conservation and communications campaigns. SSWD used a variety of channels to promote water conservation and WaterSense, including full-page ads in local newspapers, geo-targeted ads on Facebook and via its monthly bill insert distributed to more 40,000 customers. In addition, SSWD partnered with a local park district to develop and launch a new series of water-wise demonstration landscapes.

Sonoma-Marin (Santa Rosa, CA) Saving Water Partnership (SMSWP)
Excellence in Promoting WaterSense Labeled Products
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 in 2017. The Partnership also provided 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. 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.

Hunter Industries (San Marcos, CA)
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 conducted extensive research to better understand the marketplace. Based on the results, Hunter developed a new weather-based controller that better meets the needs of contractors, including daily watering schedule modifications based on local conditions.

San Diego (San Diego, CA) County Water Authority
Excellence in Certification Program Growth
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 expand the program’s training goals. In 2017, the Water Authority offered 12 classes for more than 200 landscape professionals. Of these, 145 were QWEL certified, bringing the region’s total certifications to more than 470 since 2016.

About WaterSense
WaterSense, a partnership program sponsored by EPA, seeks to protect the future of the nation's water supply by offering Americans a simple way to use less water with water-efficient products, homes, and services. WaterSense labeled products, which are independently certified to use at least 20 percent less water and perform as well or better than standard models, have been on the market since 2007. Today there are more than 27,000 labeled models, including products used in residential and commercial bathrooms, commercial kitchens, and outdoor irrigation. EPA’s WaterSense program certifies homes with WaterSense labeled fixtures and features. To date more than 1,000 homes have earned the WaterSense label.

To learn more about the 2018 WaterSense award winners, please visit: www.epa.gov/watersense/watersense-awards

Tag: Southwest

U.S. EPA Awards Nogales-Based Nonprofit $120,000 to Help Communities Address Environmental, Public Health Risks

U.S. EPA Honors California and Nevada Organizations for Water-Saving Innovations

“Water conservation is so important in the arid Southwest,” said EPA Pacific Southwest Regional Administrator Mike Stoker. “These WaterSense winners are helping families and businesses throughout our region save money and water through innovative practices and technologies.”

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