he Metropolitan North Georgia Water Planning District (District) received its seventh Sustained Excellence Award and 10^th award overall from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) WaterSense program for its long-standing dedication to water conservation, collaboration, WaterSense outreach, and water resources education. The District was honored on Thursday, September 26^th during the annual WaterSmart Innovations Conference and Exposition in Las Vegas, alongside organizations from across the U.S., for their commitment to promoting WaterSense and water efficiency in 2023.

Some of the successful education and outreach activities that helped earn the District another national award include:

• The District revamped and refreshed its website to include information focused on its My Drop Counts campaign, which features WaterSense-labeled product rebate programs.
  
  
• In the summer of 2023, the District launched its new Smart Leak Detector Rebate Program, providing rebates for over 35 smart leak detectors. Additionally, the District distributed free retrofit kits that included WaterSense showerhead leak detection kits.

• In 2023, the District initiated the Metro Water District – Water Efficiency Code Requirements, requiring local governments in the District to adopt a more stringent plumbing code that includes WaterSense labeled faucets, showerheads, irrigation controllers, and sprinkler bodies.

• The District participated in a number of community events in 2023 reaching over 1,000 people across the region. During the Summer Adventures Day at the Chattahoochee Nature Center, they educated residents about water-efficient irrigation. In October, District staff attended the Trick or Treatment Fall Festival and promoted the WaterSense Flip Your Flapper campaign. 

The District continues to provide rebates for retrofits and fixture replacements with WaterSense labeled products, including 600 rebates for WaterSense labeled toilets in single- and multi-family homes.

“We are honored to receive EPA’s recognition for a seventh year, and are thrilled to see our efforts to promote water efficiency continue to drive conservation in the region,” said Danny Johnson, Director of the Metropolitan North Georgia Water Planning District. “No effort is too small - through the region’s combined efforts to raise awareness, we have seen a 30 percent reduction in per-capita water use over the past two decades.” 

Georgia is a leader in efficient water resources management. In January 2023, the Alliance for Water Efficiency (AWE) released its 2022 U.S. State Policy Scorecard for Water Efficiency and Sustainability recognizing Georgia as fifth best in the nation and first in the southeast region. The report, updated every five years, ranks each U.S. state based on its adoption of laws and policies that advance water efficiency, conservation, sustainability, and affordability.

For ways to save and protect water, visit www.MyDropCounts.org, and to learn more about the WaterSense program, visit www.epa.gov/watersense.