News Flash

Washington, D.C.— Durham’s Department of Water Management (DWM) has been recognized by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) with the 2021 WaterSense Partner of the Year Award. DWM received the award on Thursday, October 7, for promoting WaterSense and water efficiency throughout 2020, along with 33 other utilities, manufacturers, builders, retailers, and other organizations that partner with WaterSense to promote water-efficient products, homes, and programs. 

“It’s an honor to be recognized with the Partner of Year Award. We’ve received WaterSense awards the last five years, but receiving Partner of the Year is particularly special, as it speaks to the steadfast dedication of our staff,” said Don Greeley, Director of Durham’s Department of Water Management. “Our Water Efficiency team worked throughout 2020 to come up with creative and unique solutions for outreach and customer service, and clearly, their efforts are noteworthy.”

WaterSense, a voluntary partnership program sponsored by EPA, is both a label for water-efficient products and homes and a resource for helping consumers learn ways to save water. Since the program started in 2006, WaterSense labeled products have helped consumers and businesses save 5.3 trillion gallons of water—enough water to supply all households in the United States with water for 200 days! In addition to water savings, WaterSense has helped reduce the amount of energy needed to heat, pump, and treat water by 603 billion kilowatt hours and save $108 billion in water and energy bills.

“In 2020, our WaterSense partners continued to make saving water possible by educating consumers and businesses about WaterSense and water-efficient behaviors,” said Veronica Blette, the WaterSense program manager. “Our award winners’ creative and committed approaches to water conservation helped consumers save water, energy, and money on their utility bills at a time when they needed it most.”

For more information about WaterSense, visit www.epa.gov/watersense.

About the Department of Water Management
The Department of Water Management is responsible for the operation and maintenance of Durham's water supply, water treatment and water reclamation (wastewater treatment) facilities, the collection and distribution systems (including meter reading), and customer billing services. The department has a wide variety of support divisions and programs to maintain the existing infrastructure that provide these integral services, and strives to be a responsible steward of the City’s physical assets. For information, visit http://durhamnc.gov/944/, like Durham Saves Water on Facebook, and follow @DurhamWater on Twitter.