Water Efficiency Watch - October 2024

Submitted on October 15, 2024

In this issue...

  • Water Efficiency & Conservation Symposium
  • Organizational Updates
  • Research Updates
  • Policy Updates
  • News from Members and Partners
  • News Briefs

Water Efficiency & Conservation Symposium

2024 Event Recap 

Thank you to everyone who helped make our 2nd Annual Water Efficiency & Conservation Symposium a success! The enthusiasm from attendees was palpable —from the laughter filling the Climate Action Museum during the Welcome Reception on the first night to the lively discussions and spirited debates during small group sessions and live polling exchanges on critical issues facing water conservation professionals. 

The AWE staff and Board of Directors are optimistic that the conversations sparked in Chicago will create a ripple effect across North America as attendees return home with fresh insights, new questions, and promising practices to implement in their communities. The Symposium’s two-track program covered a wide range of topics, with sessions such as “Energy-Water Nexus: Climate Change Driven Sustainability Practices”, “Building a Better Residential Audit”, and “Championing Equity in Water Conservation”. 

Symposium materials are available here for attendees to review. 

  

Gratitude for our 2024 Sponsors  

We are so thankful for the generosity of our 2024 Symposium sponsors! Thank you to each company, utility, small business, and corporation that helped make our 2024 event a success. We would be remiss if we didn’t offer a special note of gratitude to our Presenting Sponsors, Moen! 

Congratulations to the 2024 AWE Member Awardees 

To cap off the end of the 2nd Annual Water Efficiency & Conservation Symposium, our team celebrated the exceptional contributions of AWE members at a morning Awards Ceremony. From Tucson Water’s pioneering equity initiatives to Yoppify’s innovative customer engagement technology, the awards recognized outstanding leadership and innovation in water conservation. Individual accolades highlighted the passion and dedication of professionals like Water Star Deirdre Irwin and Up & Comer Rachael Belisle-Toler. Learn more about these inspiring awardees here. Together, they are driving meaningful change in water efficiency across North America.  

Organizational Updates

We're Hiring a Researcher 

AWE is seeking a new team member to join our program team as either a Researcher or Senior Researcher. This role offers a unique opportunity to contribute to impactful research projects that advance water efficiency and conservation efforts across North America. As part of a small, dynamic team, the Researcher will manage and conduct a variety of research activities, collaborate with partners, and help shape new initiatives. We encourage applicants with diverse experiences to apply—even if you don't meet all the qualifications listed! View the full listing and learn how to apply here. 

Staff Spotlight: Meet Our New Research Assistant 

In July, we were thrilled to welcome Fiona Reyes to our team! Fiona joined AWE in a short-term capacity as a research assistant working to support our Outdoor Water Savings Research Initiative. Her focus will be creating a resource that highlights best practices in residential landscape transformation and irrigation efficiency programs, showcasing the collaborations these programs foster to save water and address water resource challenges. 

Fiona is a recent graduate of California Polytechnic University, San Luis Obispo, where she earned a Bachelor of Science in Environmental Management and Protection with a minor in Sustainable Environments. During her undergraduate studies, she worked with the campus sustainability department to implement energy and water conservation programs and served as a research assistant on a community education and outreach project for offshore wind farms. 

Research Updates  

New Research Initiative: Understanding Water Use, Leaks, and Efficiency in Low-Income Households to Improve Affordability 

AWE is developing a research project that will aim to better understand water use trends and efficiency potential in low-income households. This project will inform and support advocacy efforts to advance development of the Plumbing Repair Efficiency and Assistance Program (PREAP). 

We want to hear from you! AWE will hold an initial project brainstorming call on November 13, 2024, for those interested in potentially contributing funding, data, and expertise to this project. Please email Andrew Morris at andrew@a4we.org to get plugged in.  

Best in Class: Smart Practices for Residential Landscape and Irrigation Programs 

Thank you to all our members who have shared their experiences administering residential landscape and irrigation programs with the AWE team! This project will be a resource of smart practices in utility-sponsored residential landscape and irrigation programs and will take a deep dive into how to design effective programs that address your local, organizational, and environmental needs and challenges. 

We are continuing to gather examples from utilities and related organizations for this project. If you would like to showcase your work in this space and participate in this project, please email amanda@a4we.org to express your interest. 

Behavior Change for Water Change 

Thank you to those who applied to volunteer on our Program Advisory Committee for this project! With funding from the Scotts Miracle-Gro Foundation, this project will synthesize current knowledge and previously researched efforts on behavior-based strategies to understand what drives residential outdoor water use and irrigation behaviors. It will also include a pilot experiment testing top-identified behavior-based strategies to reduce residential outdoor water use and encourage efficient irrigation practices.  

AMI Customer Portal Pilot; City of Westminster, CO 

AWE has been partnering with the City of Westminster, CO, and the University of Chicago’s Energy & Environment Lab to explore two pilots enabled by the City of Westminster's advanced metering infrastructure (AMI). The first was an outreach effort to test strategies to increase enrollment in the AMI portal, and the second was a messaging outreach pilot to encourage residents to adjust their outdoor watering use if they were watering during the day and/or more days than necessary. Data is still being collected and evaluated.  

Phase 3 of Outdoor Water Research Initiative 

AWE hosted a Learning Cohort on "Training Landscape and Irrigation Professionals," where project participants explored creative ways organizations are engaging with and training contractors in water-efficient landscaping and irrigation practices. The event featured perspectives from across the industry, including representatives from the City of Bend, OR, CalWEP, and Hunter Industries, who shared insights into their respective programs, resources, and efforts in this space.  

AWE’s Research Featured in Recent JAWWA Article  

Check out the latest copy of the American Water Works Association’s Journal AWWA to read Proactive Leak Notification Programs Advance Conservation by AWE’s Director of Programs, Liesel Hans. This featured article is based on our 2023 research study Practices to Save Water: An Evaluation of AMI-enabled Proactive Leak Notification Programs. Liesel writes, “As more systems employ AMI, they are certain to reap the benefits of not just reducing leaks and saving water but also achieving higher customer satisfaction and greater community trust in the safety and reliability of drinking water supplies.” 

Policy Updates  

New Policy White Paper: Improving Water Affordability by Creating a New Federal Plumbing Repair and Efficiency Assistance Program 

We believe the federal government has a unique opportunity to help make water affordable for more low-income households. This policy white paper outlines our proposal that Congress create and generously fund a new federal program covering plumbing repairs and water efficiency improvements for low-income households in states, tribes, and territories. Addressing high usage and inefficiency will permanently reduce water and sewer bills for participating households. AWE calls this concept the Plumbing Repair and Efficiency Assistance Program (PREAP).  

Seeking Federal Tax Incentives for Water Efficiency 

AWE continues our efforts to develop a suite of policy proposals to end federal taxes on water efficiency rebates for residential customers and provide credits and deductions for water efficiency actions taken by homebuilders, homeowners, and commercial property owners. Energy efficiency already receives these tax benefits, and here are our ideas to expand them to water efficiency:  

  • Water Conservation Rebate Tax Parity Act – This bill would end federal taxes on water efficiency rebates for residential customers, similar to how energy efficiency rebates are treated. AWE helped support the reintroduction of this bill in 2025 with a new co-sponsor from Utah, making this bipartisan. AWE continues to work with the bill sponsors and partners to support this bill becoming law.  

  • 45L Tax Credit for WaterSense Homes – The current 45L tax credit provides an incentive for home builders to build EnergyStar homes. AWE has been developing a policy white paper on expanding this to cover WaterSense homes as well. The white paper is expected to be released in November 2024.  

  • 25C Tax Credits for Residential Efficiency Improvements – Currently, 25C tax credits are available to homeowners who make energy efficiency improvements to their homes. AWE is brainstorming with members and partners on how something similar could be achieved for water efficiency. Email andrew@a4we.org if you would like to discuss your ideas. 

  • 179D Deduction for Commercial Water Efficiency Improvements - Currently, 179D tax deductions are available to businesses that make water efficiency improvements. AWE is brainstorming with members and partners on how something similar could be achieved for water efficiency. Email andrew@a4we.org if you would like to discuss your ideas. 

Recent Webinars  

New AWE Advocacy & Research Initiatives 

If you missed our advocacy webinar earlier this fall, it’s not too late to watch the recording! In this webinar we promoted our new advocacy efforts on “Water Affordability – Making the Case for a Federal Plumbing Repair and Efficiency Assistance Program (PREAP).” Read the White Paper. 

We discussed the need for this new, federally funded program to assist low-income households and how this helps permanently improve affordability for participating households. We also talked about a related research initiative we are launching to look at the water use profiles of customers assisted by the temporary Low Income Household Water Assistance Program, which provided federal funding for bill payment assistance. There is no existing research on the water use profiles of customers served by this program, and by understanding their water usage, we can better make the case for both efficiency improvements and bill payment assistance programs at the federal level. We will ask interested utilities to help fund, provide data, and participate in this research. The recording is available on our YouTube channel here. 

Workforce Development for the Water Sector 

In June, we co-hosted a webinar with US EPA WaterSense as part of our Outdoor Water Series. This hour-long webinar featured brief presentations from the City of Santa Fe, EPA Green Infrastructure, and the Qualified Water Efficient Landscaper (QWEL) program where they shared about their workforce development strategies. 

The recording is available on our YouTube channel here. 

Member Achievements & Awards 

Congratulations, WaterSense Awardees! 

AWE was honored to receive a WaterSense Award last week at the WaterSmart Innovations Conference, where awardees were recognized in the categories of Sustained Excellence, Partners of the Year, and Excellence Awards. Of the 51 awards presented by EPA WaterSense, 34 went to AWE members, highlighting our community’s depth of commitment to stewarding our water resources. 

  • 2024 WaterSense Sustained Excellence Award Winners: 
    Athens-Clarke County Public Utilities Department, Big Bear Lake Department of Water and Power, City of Charlottesville, City of Plano, City of Sacramento Department of Utilities, Harris-Galveston Subsidence District, Irvine Ranch Water District, Kohler Co., Niagara®, Upper San Gabriel Valley Municipal Water District 

  • 2024 WaterSense Partners of the Year: City of Bend, City of Flagstaff, City of Round Rock, East Bay Municipal Utility District, Monte Vista Water District, Moulton Niguel Water District, Rancho California Water District, Santa Clara Valley Water District, Tarrant Regional Water District 

  • 2024 WaterSense Excellence Award Winners: AWE, Arlington Water Utilities, City of Oklahoma City, Cobb County Water System, SCV Water, Alameda County Water District, California Water Service Company, City of Tucson/Tucson Water, JEA, Medford Water Commission, Veolia North America, CalWEP, Metropolitan Water District of Southern California, Marin Municipal Water District, Utah Division of Water Resources  

Congratulations to all the awardees for their remarkable achievements, which contributed to the conservation of 1.2 trillion gallons of water in 2023! Read more about the awardees here. 

Moulton Nigel Water District Turf Transformation Project 

Moulton Nigel Water District’s transformative water conservation project with Community Roots Academy in Laguna Nigel, California, was recently featured in this article from The Cool Down, “School makes incredible upgrades for lifetime savings of more than 10 million gallons of water”. 

Collaborating with Urban Ecology, Moulton Niguel Water District helped the school replace 10,114 square feet of water-intensive turf with a beautifully designed desert garden featuring native California plants like deer grass, Cleveland sage, and California sagebrush. This upgrade, including a rain garden and a simulated dry creek bed, is expected to save the school 445,000 gallons of water annually and more than 13 million gallons over its lifetime. The district also took water conservation measures indoors, installing fixtures projected to save 11 million gallons over their lifespan. The project, which cost over $82,000 with more than $40,000 covered by a county rebate, exemplifies Moulton Niguel Water District’s commitment to innovative water conservation solutions and underscores their leadership in promoting sustainable practices within the community. 

Hunter Industries’ Warren Gorowitz Featured in Recent Podcast  

AWE Corporate Advisory Council member Warren Gorowitz, who serves as the Director of Corporate Social Responsibility for Hunter Industries, recently joined the Wilson 360 Commercial Landscaper Podcast as a guest! In the episode “Could Sustainability Be Your Unique Advantage?” Warren shares insights on sustainability from his 30-year career in the industry. Tune in here to listen.  

NEWS BRIEFS
Utah Has a $276 M Bet on Farms to Save Colorado River Water Read More. 
How Much More Water and Power Does AI Computing Demand Read More. 
Leaky Pipes Are Wasting Billions Upon Billions of Gallons of Texas Water Read More. 
How Public-Private Partnerships Can Drive Innovations in Water Efficiency Read More. 
Colorado River Officials Propose Tracking Conserved Water Read More. 
Drought-Tolerant Front Yard Ideas – Experts’ Favorite Water-Smart Tips Read More. 
Climate Change is Altering the Length of Days on Earth, According to New Research Read More. 
Amid Extreme Heat, California Adopts Long-Term Water-Saving Targets for Cities Read More. 

Topics: 
Communication and Education,