MADISON- The Public Service Commission of Wisconsin (PSC) was recognized as a 2011 WaterSense Partner of Excellence by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The PSC received the award for its efforts to increase awareness of the WaterSense program by working with Wisconsin water utilities, plumbers, and other organizations to promote water efficiency and for its participation in events such as “Fix-A-Leak Week” and the “We’re for Water” campaign.
The 2011 WaterSense Partner of the Year and Partner of Excellence awards were announced at the annual WaterSmart Innovations Conference and Expo in Las Vegas, Nevada. EPA launched the awards program in 2008 to recognize WaterSense partners who help to advance the overall mission of WaterSense by increasing awareness of the brand and by demonstrating excellence in water efficiency.
The PSC’s Division of Water, Compliance, and Consumer Affairs (DWCCA) works with Wisconsin water utilities to implement water conservation into water supply planning and to implement measures that promote the efficient and sustainable use of water. Water efficiency measures reduce wasteful consumption, avoid the need to invest in expensive drinking water and wastewater capacity, and save energy used in pumping and treating water. In the long term, these measures save both the utility and the ratepayers’ money and provide other economic and environmental benefits to Wisconsin.
Wisconsin water utilities are responsible for providing safe, clean water to consumers at reasonable rates. “By reducing water usage, utilities can protect Wisconsin’s drinking water supply, control water rates and costs, and ensure that water resources are used sustainably,” stated Phil Montgomery, Chairman of the PSC. “The WaterSense program is great example of government and private sector cooperation, and I am pleased that the PSC was recognized for its efforts to promote water efficiency in Wisconsin.”
The WaterSense program celebrates its 5th anniversary in 2011. Since 2006, WaterSense-labeled products have helped consumers save a total of 125 billion gallons of water and $2 billion in water and energy bills. These results were made possible with collaboration from more than 2,200 WaterSense partners who have brought more than 4,000 plumbing products to the marketplace and educated thousands of consumers on the benefits of WaterSense labeled products.
For more information about the PSC’s water conservation activities, visit: http://psc.wi.gov/conservation/water/wc-overview.htm.
For more information on the EPA WaterSense 2011 Partners of the Year awards, visit: http://www.epa.gov/watersense/partners/watersense_awards.html.
