The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and American Water joined forces this week to kick off the national “We’re for Water” campaign, coinciding with peak water use season in many parts of America. The campaign officially began in Los Angeles this week, with two families competing to see who can save the most water by checking for leaks, twisting on faucet aerators and replacing inefficient fixtures.
Zeke and Nigeria James and their children, Alana, 6, and Reina, 3, and Michael and Ellen Walls and their children, Michael, Jr., 27 and Ashley, 24, reviewed the EPA’s WaterSense website and made changes in their everyday lives to reduce their water usage. WaterSense partner American Water monitored the two families’ water use over the course of one week and compared it to their usage during a previous week this summer. During the kickoff event, the families showed off what they learned by battling each other in a “check, twist, replace” competition. A gallon of water from the competition was saved and become Flo, the We’re for Water “spokesgallon.”
Flo and the We’re for Water team will now depart from L.A. and travel across the country for two weeks, stopping at national landmarks, taking photos with tourists, educating citizens about water efficiency and recording the trip via Facebook, Twitter, widgets and the We’re for Water website. The road trip will culminate on August 2, 2010, with an event in New York City.
The We’re for Water campaign is a national effort to educate consumers about water-saving behaviors and WaterSense labeled products. The campaign, which kicks off during “peak” water use season in many parts of the country, encourages consumers to adopt simple changes at home to start saving water.
WaterSense is a partnership program sponsored by the U.S. EPA with the goal of protecting the future of the nation's water supply by promoting and enhancing the market for water-efficient products and services. There are currently 525 WaterSense labeled toilets, more than 1,800 labeled faucets and faucet accessories, 74 labeled showerheads, and more than 900 WaterSense irrigation partners. WaterSense labeled products are independently tested and certified to meet EPA’s criteria for both efficiency and performance. For more information, visit www.epa.gov/watersense or follow the tour at www.epa.gov/watersense/wereforwater.
Source: American Water
