Water Wise conservation program marks five efficient years

Tampa Bay Water’s Water Wise program is combatting climate change and saving participants money, one toilet flush at a time.

Water Wise was launched five years ago through a partnership between Southwest Florida Water Management District and Tampa Bay Water, a utility that provides wholesale drinking water to 2.6 million customers across Pasco, Pinellas and Hillsborough Counties and the cities of Tampa, St. Pete and New Port Richey.  

Analysts at Tampa Bay Water recognized that the region’s rapid population growth had the potential to place significant stress on the water supply and started to explore ways to address the issue. While Tampa Bay currently has enough water for its residents, the utility wanted to avoid a situation where this wasn’t the case. 

“Part of what Tampa Bay Water does is to take a really detailed look at the future. You know, what might things look like in 20 years. We can’t pinpoint it because there is so much uncertainty, but  we forecast a range of what water demands might be,” explained Amelia Brown, demand management program manager at Tampa Bay Water. 

“This is based on a really deep analysis of variables like population growth, economic factors etcetera, which guide our future plans. Because our population has been growing across the last decade, we’re in a position that we’re interested in developing new water use strategies.” 

Water Wise is one such strategy. The mission of the program is to save money and water by replacing old toilets, showerheads, aerators and other water devices with newer, more efficient ones.  Participants are entitled to rebates of up to $100 for toilet replacements, $15 for showerheads and $5 for aerators. 

While customers receive rebates for the initial purchase, the cost-savings continue throughout the lifespan of these devices. Less water equals lower water bills, a win for participants’ pocketbooks and for the Tampa Bay environment. 

“This can help reduce our demands. Every gallon we don’t have to deliver is another gallon that we don’t have to develop as a new supply,” explained Brown.  “It financially makes sense, but there’s also environmental benefits. One less gallon we put on our lawn is one more gallon we get to leave in its natural environment.”

Participants run the gamut from single-family homes to larger, multi-unit projects, such as the University of South Florida’s Housing, which outfitted 1,500 of its units with water-efficient devices. While any  applicants can apply through the Water Wise website, bigger properties are usually recruited by the program’s outreach managers. 

John Moradi, general manager of the Quality Inn Tropicana Field, is one recent recruit. Two months ago, he partnered with Water Wise to replace 240 devices in guest rooms – 80 high efficiency toilets, 80 showerheads and 80 bath aerators. The program is expected to save the hotel 3,000 gallons of water each day, equating to one million gallons of water in the next year. 

While Water Wise has supported the hotel with converting its water devices, Moradi said that participating in the program has motivated him to make other changes to reduce the hotel’s environmental impact. 

“When a small business like us, when we see the benefit, we’re looking for other ways to make changes. We’ve invested in new washers and dryers, we’re changing our fixtures, we’ve swapped our fridges.  The savings start with one aspect of our business, but it trickles to other areas in the business.”

“The possibilities are endless.”

To learn more about the Water Wise program, visit https://tampabaywaterwise.org/en/