Seattle Public Utilities Wins EPA Water Award
Becomes First Utility in the Nation to Win Honor

For immediate release: 10/9/08
For more information, Contact: SPU Customer Service (206) 684-3000

SEATTLE – The success of Seattle’s water conservation programs has been recognized on the national stage with an award from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

Seattle Public Utilities (SPU) and its 17 local utility partners in the Saving Water Partnership have won a 2008 EPA WaterSense Partner of the Year award.

EPA Assistant Administrator for Water Benjamin H. Grumbles said that SPU and the Saving Water Partnership won the award for being blue ribbon winners in water efficiency.

“These water stars are helping WaterSense transform the way Americans view and value our most precious liquid asset and, as a result, we are saving more and wasting less for future generations,” Mr. Grumbles said.

SPU has been working with the EPA on programs that conserve Seattle’s water resources, including the Save With Every Flush campaign which promoted WaterSense-labeled high efficiency toilets (HETs) that use about 20 percent less water –1.28 gallons per flush (gpf) compared to the 1.6 gpf of standard efficient toilets – to homeowners, property managers, plumbers and retailers.

Al Dietemann, water conservation staff lead at SPU, said that programs such as these mean that Seattle now uses less water today than it has since the early 1960s, a fact that is even more astounding because population has grown by more than 60 percent over the same timeframe.

Consumption for 2008 is projected to be 124 million gallons per day (mgd), down from 148 mgd in 2000 and lower than any year since 1959, when consumption was 121.1 mgd.

“This award is a testament to our customers in Seattle and the surrounding cities who have embraced our water conservation programs, ensuring water for future generations, the environment, salmon, and other wildlife,” Mr. Dietemann said.

In addition to providing solid waste services in Seattle, SPU provides more than 1.3 million customers in the metropolitan area with a reliable water supply and provides essential sewer, drainage and engineering services that safeguard public health, maintain the city’s infrastructure and protect, conserve and enhance the region's environmental resources.

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Seattle Public Utilities