Contest, Expanded Showerhead Rebate, Free Faucet Aerators to Help Conservation Efforts

With the community entering August some  250  million gallons over the conservation goal for the year, the Water Authority is asking its customers to look for ways to save eight gallons per person per day during the upcoming month.

“Eight gallons per person per day is all it will take to get us back on track,” said Katherine Yuhas, the Water Authority’s conservation officer. “It could be something as simple as cutting a few minutes off your sprinkler times or your shower, but we should all be thinking of ways to save.”

To encourage customers to find ways to save eight gallons per day, the Water Authority has announced its “Save 8 in August” contest.  For a chance to win a free water-saving rain barrel, Water Authority customers can enter their best water-saving ideas and explain how they saved eight gallons per day.

How to Enter

Show or tell us your best way to save eight gallons a day and you might win a free rain barrel, delivered to your home! Three winners will be chosen based on originality of ideas and ease of implementation. To enter, you can:

1. Post a video (up to 5 minutes) to your YouTube account and send  the link to us at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it , or

2. Email a written statement (up to 200 words) to This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it , or

3. Mail your entry to:

Katherine Yuhas
Water Conservation Officer,
Water Utility Authority, P.O. Box 1293
Albuquerque, NM 87103

4. Be sure to include your name, address, daytime phone number and water authority account number.

5. ENTRIES MUST BE RECEIVED NO LATER THAN September 1, 2010.  Contest is open to Water Authority customers only. One entry per person. All entries become property of Albuquerque Bernalillo County Water Utility Authority. Judges’ decisions are final.

Showerheads, faucet aerators are two great ways to save

To help customers save, the Water Authority has expanded its showerhead rebate program.  Starting August 1, customers can earn a $10 rebate on their water bills for each EPA WaterSense-approved showerhead that they install.  A complete list of approved showerheads can be found   by visiting:

http://www.epa.gov/WaterSense/product_search.html
 
 “This is a great way to save water and money,” Yuhas explained, “particularly because the New Mexico Gas Company also offers a $7 rebate for approved showerheads, which means you can earn $17 in rebates for each showerhead you install.”

Also helping in the conservation push are free faucet aerators, which can reduce faucet flows by several gallons per minute without diminishing effectiveness. Aerators are available while supplies last at City of Albuquerque and Bernalillo County community centers  and City of Albuquerque senior centers.  Community and senior center locations  can be found  by following these links:

http://www.cabq.gov/communitycenters/centers.html

http://www.cabq.gov/seniors/centers/seniorcenters

http://www.bernco.gov/live/departments.asp?dept=7468

“We must continue to reduce our per capita water use and move toward our overall conservation goal if we are to meet permit requirements for the San Juan-Chama Drinking Water Project,” Yuhas said. “That’s why it’s so important for us to Save 8 in August!”

Landscape With Water Use in Mind!

An Agua Savio  Landscape Professional Can Help!

This year, the Albuquerque Bernalillo County Water Utility Authority launched a free training program,  Agua Savio, to educate landscape professionals on the best ways to create water-efficient landscapes that are suitable for our dry Southwestern climate.

Agua Savio participants have received special training and education in:

• Albuquerque’s  weather patterns
• How to determine a landscape’s water needs
• How to reduce landscape irrigation
• Different types of irrigation systems
• How to detect and repair irrigation system leaks
• Using plants, trees, mulch and other landscape features to improve landscapes and save water

Landscapers who have completed the training are designated as official program participants and are allowed to display the Agua Savio logo on their documents, bids, web sites,  and in their places of business. For a list of program participants, click here.

If  you’re a landscape contractor interested in completing the FREE Agua Savio training program, call 888-1722 for more information.

Southside Re-Use Project Under Way

Albuquerque, January 25, 2010 –
The Water Authority’s Southside Re-Use Project is now under construction. The project, partly funded by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, will use polished wastewater piped from the Water Authority’s Southside Reclamation (i.e., sewage treatment) Plant to irrigate turf at some 26 parks, fields and other recreation areas in the southeast part of town.

Re-use is one part of our larger strategy (including conservation and the San Juan-Chama Drinking Water Project) to reduce reliance on our underground aquifer so our groundwater can be saved as drought reserve. When the Southside Re-Use Project is complete in late 2010 or early 2011, it will save about 2,500 acre-feet of drinking water annually – equal to the water consumed by about 7,500 homes.

For more information on Southside Re-Use, including a Q&A and construction phase map for customers in the construction area, please click on the link below to download an informative brochure.

Southside Re-Use Project Brochure [476KB pdf]