EPA Press Office:

EPA News: EPA recognizes Charlottesville for water conservation efforts (Va.)

PHILADELPHIA (Oct. 6, 2022) – The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency presented a WaterSense Partner of the Year Award to Charlottsville, Virginia, today for its continuing efforts to educate residents about the importance of conserving water. Charlottesville received its fifth Sustained Excellence Award for its “Fix a Leak Week” held in March when the city created a Home Scavenger Hunt to help customers get to know their water fixtures and how then can check for leaks. The city also created an outdoor scavenger hunt along a river walk with tips about finding and fixing leaks. “EPA lifts a glass of tap water to toast the city of Charlottesville for its leadership,” said EPA Mid-Atlantic Regional Administrator Adam Ortiz. “So, cheers to Charlottesville for helping residents and businesses save money and water by promoting WaterSense labeled products. Every drop of water saved matters.”  Charlottesville was among 34 communities nationwide receiving WaterSense awards at the WaterSmart Innovations Conference and Exposition in Las Vegas, Nevada, to recognize their support of WaterSense and water efficiency in 2021. Together, WaterSense partners helped Americans save a total of more than 6.4 trillion gallons of water and more than $135 billion on utility bills since 2006. “By working to promote the value of water efficiency, our WaterSense partners helped people save water, energy, and money—all while protecting life’s most precious resource during times of drought,” said EPA Assistant Administrator for Water Radhika Fox. “EPA appreciates WaterSense partners’ commitment to being good stewards of water.” Award winners include utilities, manufacturers, builders, a retailer, and other organizations that promote and sell WaterSense labeled products, build WaterSense labeled homes, and operate WaterSense labeled certification programs. The awardees initiated a variety of new programs, outreach, and education activities to engage customers and promote water conservation with WaterSense. The EPA website provides more details on WaterSense and here is a complete list of the 2022 WaterSense Award winners