Oct. 26, 2023

The Irrigation Association recently named Marin Water as the recipient of the Smart Water Application Technologies 2023 Outstanding Public Engagement Award.  

The award, based on our Water Efficiency Team’s Watershed Approach to Landscaping Program, recognizes water providers who engage and educate the public on smart, efficient irrigation technologies and practices.  

With a community education class series at the College of Marin, a community garden grant program, a robust, water-wise landscaping practices guidebook and numerous other resources, Marin Water was credited with fulfilling “a need in their community for comprehensive, actionable and inspiring information on sustainable landscape design.”  

Since its inception, the program has seen significant success, including hundreds of requests for copies of the Watershed Approach to Landscaping program handbook and more than 350 participants in the college course series. Further, the District’s WaterSmart Gardening webpage, which hosts a link to a downloadable version of the handbook, has received more than 3,000 views in the past year, demonstrating the reach of these resources. 

“Through its engagement with the community, Marin (Water’s) Watershed Approach to Landscaping Program has provided residential and commercial customers practical information and resources to advance conservation, while demonstrating Marin Water’s commitment as an ally to consumers in sustainability efforts,” said IA CEO Natasha Rankin, MBA, CAE. “Congratulations to Marin Water on this much-deserved SWAT award.” 

The 2023 SWAT Outstanding Public Engagement Award was presented in early October, during the WaterSmart Innovations Conference and Exposition. For more information about the Irrigation Association, visit irrigation.org.  

For more information about the Watershed Approach to Landscaping program, or the District’s other WaterSmart Gardening resources, visit marinwater.org/WaterSmartGardening.