The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recognized Athens-Clarke County (ACC) Public Utilities Department with a 2019 WaterSense Sustained Excellence Award for its heroic efforts to defeat water waste and promote WaterSense in 2018. The ACC Public Utilities Department received one of 25 WaterSense awards at the WaterSmart Innovations Conference in Las Vegas.

Since 2006, the ACC Public Utilities Department and more than 2,000 other WaterSense partners have helped consumers save more than 3.4 trillion gallons of water. That’s enough water to supply all American households for four months! In addition to water savings, WaterSense labeled products and homes have helped reduce the amount of energy needed to heat, pump, and treat water by 462.5 billion kilowatt-hours. This savings is enough to power more than 44.4 million homes for a year and save $84.2 billion in water and energy bills.

“Our partners have made water-saving products, homes, and programs accessible across the nation and have educated millions on the importance of water conservation,” said Veronica Blette, Chief, WaterSense Branch. “These WaterSense award winners are leading the fight against water waste to save our most precious resource.”

ACC Public Utilities Department was honored as a 2019 WaterSense Sustained Excellence Award winner for the third year in a row by creatively educating both consumers and commercial entities about saving water. Starting with Fix a Leak Week in March, ACC enlisted an "edutainer" to visit four schools and present to 1,115 students and 83 adults. He used magic and humor to teach water conservation, even juggling “leeks” to spread the message of looking for and fixing leaks. Next, the annual Athens Water Festival featured WaterSense spokes-gallon Flo in a Water Avenger theme. Participants completed educational activities to collect "infinite stones” that spelled out "WATER." Once they had the five stones, the 1,000 participants received a unique refrigerator magnet stone featuring the WaterSense logo.

Athens-Clarke County's commercial conservation program, Certified Blue, continues to supply 37 businesses with WaterSense faucet aerators and pre-rinse spray valves as needed in 2018. The utility participated in a restaurant panel at the 2018 WaterSmart Innovations Conference and discussed the logistics of implementing a restaurant conservation program and commercial water-saving best management practices. ACC also continued its partnership with the Water Research Foundation to determine water-use metrics in different commercial building types.

“As Athens-Clarke County continues to grow, it is the utility’s responsibility to ensure we maintain a steady supply of water for our community," says Marilyn Hall, ACC Water Resources Senior Planner. "The partnership with WaterSense provides us with a framework to promote simple ways for our customers to use less water with water-efficient products, homes, and services.”