2019 Blue Legacy Awards ~ Municipal Winners

 

New Braunfels Utilities

Retail or Wholesale Water Supplier - Population: 50,001 - 100,000

New Braunfels Utilities (NBU) began a five-year upgrade program for their water and electric meters in 2016, in an effort to increase efficiency, accuracy, and data collection. With this conversion, NBU was able to collect hourly data and started an outreach program utilizing collected data to contact customers with potential leaks via automated phone calls and text messages. NBU also created resources for customers, including a “lead detection checklist” and a video demonstrating how to perform a leak test in the home using food coloring. With over 31,000 alters sent and over 27 million gallons saved since January 2017, NBU is working toward its mission of “Enhancing the quality of our community by providing innovative essential services.”

NBU Receiving BLA 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

BV WATERSMART

Retail or Wholesale Water Supplier - Population: 100,000 - 500,000

Brazos Valley WaterSmart is an educational partnership between the Texas A&M University, The Texas Center for Applied Technology, Brazos Valley Groundwater Conservation District, and the City of College Station. Conserving water by improving residential outdoor water-use efficiency and reducing wasteful landscape overwatering are the two goals of BVWATERSMART. This multi-faceted program utilizes weather stations, residential water budgets, and public outreach to implement change.  Since 2010 BVWATERSMART’s six education programs contributed to a cumulative reduction in College Station’s water use of just over 630,000,000 gallons of water.

BVWATERSMART

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

City of Amarillo

Retail or Wholesale Water Supplier - Population: 100,000 - 500,000

In 1823, a geographer on expedition in the Great Plains cited that the scarcity of wood and water were “an insuperable obstacle in the way of settling the country.”  With discovery of the Ogallala aquifer and the means to tap this awesome resource, ingenuity prevailed.  Understanding the critical need of preserving this vital resource, the City of Amarillo began a conservation program in 1960; quite possibly the first and largest conservation program in the State at the time. Treated wastewater from its River Road Water Reclamation Plant of approximately 10 million gallons per day (MGD) was diverted to a newly constructed electrical power generation plant and a refinery. Population growth and treatment capacity allowed an increase of reuse water of approximately 16 MGD. The stakeholders and decision-makers in the 1960s pioneered this water conservation effort to the benefit of the entire region.  Collaborative teaming with local industry simply made good “water sense” and “fiscal sense,” resulting in a water conservation effort amounting to approximately 250 billion gallons of water during this last 58 years.

Amarillo Receiving BLA 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Texas Living Waters Project

Innovative Projects

The Texas Living Waters Project’s Water Conservation By the Yard was released in 2018. The report quantifies the potential water savings that can come from implementing outdoor irrigation ordinances.  Water savings estimates are made for each of Texas’ 16 water planning regions.  The report provides detailed resources for municipalities to build and develop their own ordinances as well as additional strategies to sustain or maximize water savings. Water Conservation by the Yard is part of a body of work from the Texas Living Waters Project intended to support the efforts of Texas utilities as they plan and implement water conservation programming.  Water conservation is essential to meeting Texas’ water needs now and into the future and the Texas Living Waters Project is proud to be a partner in that endeavor.

TLWP Receiving BLA