(ATLANTA – October 8, 2020) The Metropolitan North Georgia Water Planning District (Metro Water District) has received their third WaterSense Sustained Excellence Award from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). This is the sixth consecutive year the EPA has recognized the Metro Water District for their innovative and creative approach to promoting WaterSense and water efficiency, contributing to the region’s decline in per capita water use.
Every year, the EPA recognizes WaterSense partner organizations that have demonstrated a commitment to promoting water efficiency and strengthening the drought resiliency of communities across the country. More than 1,700 utilities, manufacturers, retailers, builders and organizations partner with WaterSense, a program sponsored by the EPA that promotes water-efficient products, homes, and services. Very few are granted the Sustained Excellence Award, the highest distinction the program awards.
“We are honored to be selected for the third year in a row by the WaterSense program for the Sustained Excellence Award,” said Glenn Page, Chairman of the Metro Water District. “WaterSense provides excellent resources and support that assist us with our innovative outreach programs. These programs and other successes in conservation and efficiency for our region have resulted in a decline of water usage across the metro Atlanta area.”
In 2019, the Metro Water District worked together with its 55 water providers and regional partners on a range of programs to promote water conservation. These included:
- Collaborating with a local digital influencer, @UnlikelyMartha, to create a blog post about water conservation to promote Fix A Leak Week with more than 18,000 views, as well as a potential reach of over 13,000 across Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook
- Sponsoring the Annual Water Drop Dash 5K and Water Festival during Fix a Leak Week at the Chattahoochee Nature Center in Roswell, with nearly 900 participants
- Participating in many events and festivals hosted by member utilities and partners across the region to talk about the importance of water conservation and promote WaterSense labeled products
- Launching the multi-family toilet rebate program, which spurred the replacement of around 600 outdated, inefficient toilets with 0.8 gpf WaterSense-labeled toilets.
WaterSense has been instrumental in the Atlanta region’s efforts to reduce water use. Since 2001, total water use in metro Atlanta has dropped by 10%, even as the population increased by more than 1.3 million.
“Since the program started in 2006, our WaterSense partners have made it possible for consumers and businesses to save more than 4.4 trillion gallons of water and $87 billion on utility bills,” said Veronica Blette, WaterSense Program Manager. “Our award winners in particular have gone above and beyond to make water, energy, and money savings easy for Americans.”
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About the Metropolitan North Georgia Water Planning District (Metro Water District)
The Metro Water District is dedicated to developing comprehensive regional and watershed-specific water resources plans to be implemented by local governments in the 15-county metro Atlanta region, which includes Bartow, Cherokee, Clayton, Cobb, Coweta, DeKalb, Douglas, Fayette, Forsyth, Fulton, Gwinnett, Hall, Henry, Paulding, and Rockdale counties. These plans conserve public water supplies, protect water quality and recreational values of the waters, and minimize potential adverse impacts of development on waters in and downstream of the region. Learn more at www.northgeorgiawater.org.
About WaterSense
WaterSense, a partnership program sponsored by the EPA, seeks to protect the future of our nation’s water supply by offering consumers and businesses simple ways to use less water with water-efficient products, homes, and services.
The Atlanta Regional Commission (ARC) is the official planning agency for the 10-county Atlanta Region, including Cherokee, Clayton, Cobb, DeKalb, Douglas, Fayette, Fulton, Gwinnett, Henry and Rockdale counties as well as the City of Atlanta and 73 other cities. The Atlanta Regional Commission serves as a catalyst for regional progress by focusing leadership, attention and planning resources on key regional issues.
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