The Harris-Galveston Subsidence District (HGSD) has won its first Sustained Excellence Award for its continued dedication to water conservation and promoting WaterSense.
On September 26, 2024, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) WaterSense Program awarded HGSD with a Sustained Excellence Award at the American Water Works Association’s WaterSmart Innovations Conference. This award is the highest honor the WaterSense program provides, with awardees that include prestigious names like The Home Depot, Kohler Co., and KB Home.
In 2023, the District implemented several water conservation community outreach efforts, including a dedicated presentation for homeowner associations with an interactive water conservation jeopardy game to put their knowledge of water conservation to the test. Additionally, HGSD created informational handouts with step-by-step instructions on how to detect toilet leaks using attached toilet tank leak-detecting tablets and additional resources promoting WaterSense-labeled products and a QR code linked to WaterSense’s “Replace Your Leaky Flapper” video.
HGSD’s Water Conservation Grant Program funded a fixture replacement project that distributed over 300 WaterSense-labeled showerheads to residents, potentially saving 974,562 gallons of water per year. This program also helped fund advanced metering infrastructure (AMI) projects, installing 27,000 smart meters, which allows users to access a customer portal for real-time water usage, the ability to identify leaks, and additional water conservation resources linked to HGSD’s Smarter About Water website – a platform for water conservation tools and resources.
The District continued its Water Conservation School Program, H2O Lab!, providing 3rd-6th grade classrooms with age-appropriate water education along with take-home water conservation kits to engage families with activities that reinforce the lessons taught at school and encourage water efficiency at home. The program reached more than 20,000 students and 425 teachers in 2023, projecting an annual water savings of more than 173 million gallons, based on the installation of the kits.
“The District is honored to be recognized on a national level with its fourth EPA WaterSense award and first Sustained Excellence Award. When incredible organizations partner together to educate, advocate, and inspire water-efficient best practices, we are able to create a sustainable water future for generations to come.”
– Mike Turco, General Manager, Harris-Galveston Subsidence District