Oct. 1, 2024

Last week, Marin Water was recognized by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for Excellence in Education and Promoting WaterSense Labeled Products. 

Presented during the Water Smart Innovations Conference last week, this award is based on Marin Water’s continued water-saving efforts, such as: 

• During Fix a Leak Week in March 2023, Marin Water encouraged customers to identify toilet leaks by participating in the Sonoma-Marin Water Saving Partnership’s Dye Tab Challenge. The Partnership gave out $25 gift cards to five customers for testing their toilets and submitting results, while also providing them with information on available rebates for WaterSense labeled toilets. 
• In the spring, Marin Water helped train future Marin Master Gardeners on sustainable gardening practices, including water-efficient irrigation equipment and management, simple leak detection, and teaching students to look for the WaterSense label as a way to recognize efficient irrigation controllers. 
• Marin Water made also it easier for customers to save money on WaterSense labeled fixtures by issuing nearly 200 rebates on WaterSense labeled irrigation controllers and nearly 20 rebates for WaterSense labeled toilets. 

This is the second-straight year Marin Water has earned this national recognition, which was shared with 21 other entities. The EPA also recognized sustained the Sonoma-Marin Saving Water Partnership (Marin Water is a member) for a variety of programs:

• Sonoma-Marin Saving Water Partnership won as a promotional partner; they made free dye tablets available at 15 locations and collaborated with Sonoma Clean Power and the Sonoma County Library to offer a Do-It-Yourself Toolkit that contains free WaterSense labeled showerheads and aerators and tools for installation. 
• The Partnership also won as a professional certifying organization; they issued 791 new certifications through their Qualified Water Efficient Landscaper (QWEL) program, while 1,990 landscape professionals maintained their certifications—a renewal rate of 90 percent in 2023. The Partnership also began offering an English/Spanish combination exam.