AWE’s latest report, Non-Functional Turf: 2023 Summary of Programs and Policies, is a culmination of our work with water agencies from across the Colorado River Basin, who signed a joint memorandum of understanding in late 2022, committing to take additional actions to increase water efficiency to help protect and conserve water in the CRB region.
Our Work
The Alliance for Water Efficiency (AWE) partners with our members and other organizations to produce the research, tools, resources, and information they need to advance water efficiency in their communities. Our work has helped water professionals seize new opportunities, uncover challenges, and break down barriers to achieve sustainable water use. To get involved and help define the work we do, join the AWE network today.
2024
2023
In 2022 AWE collaborated with Regional Water Authority (RWA) to prepare a report titled "Water and Energy Savings Estimates for CII Landscapes Upgrade Projects". RWA is a joint powers authority representing water providers and affiliates in the Sacramento region of California.
2022
AWE and The Scotts Miracle-Gro Foundation are excited to share a report detailing projects funded by the 2021 Learning Landscape Grants, as well as two projects from the 2020 program that were recently completed. The AWE Learning Landscape Grant Program, funded by the Scotts Miracle-Gro Foundation, helps support building or improving educational outdoor spaces at schools, botanical gardens, and community locations that allow school-age children to experience hands-on learning about water efficiency in outdoor landscapes.
AWE and The Scotts Miracle-Gro Foundation are excited to share a report detailing projects funded by the 2020 Learning Landscape Grants. The AWE Learning Landscape Grant Program, funded by the Scotts Miracle-Gro Foundation, helps support building or improving educational outdoor spaces at schools, botanical gardens, and community locations that allow school-age children to experience hands-on learning about water efficiency in outdoor landscapes.
2021
2021 was another challenging year for the Alliance for Water Efficiency (AWE) and our partners as drought – both prolonged and seasonal - continued across much of North America, with the prospect of increasing water supply instability because of climate change. At the same time, political divisions strained the ties that bind our nation together and threatened to prevent action on a host of pressing challenges, including the growing water crisis.
Learn more about AWE's eventful 2021 in the full report.
2020
Despite the challenging circumstances of 2020, the Alliance for Water Efficiency (AWE) persevered to provide research, member support, and policy advocacy that advanced sustainable water use across North America. As the world abruptly shifted to remote working, we collaborated with our partners to exchange ideas and strategies for navigating the new reality.
Learn more about AWE's eventful 2020 in the full report.
To promote water conservation literacy among the next generation of water customers, AWE developed Learning Landscapes: Outdoor Water Efficiency and Conservation Lessons. Developed by two professional educators, Kenneth Mirvis, Ed.D. of The Writing Company and Greg Beach, M.Ed. of Atlanta Public Schools, these lessons are designed to be used by educators of grades 3-8 and align with the associated Next Generation Science Standards.
The Alliance for Water Efficiency (AWE) Outdoor Water Savings Research Initiative kicked off in 2015 and includes a research review on outdoor water programs, the Peak Day Water Demand Management Study, the Landscape Transformation
2019
2019 was a year of production. AWE released studies, reports, manuals, handbooks, user guides, and webinars.
We successfully mobilized our community to help ensure a place for EPA’s WaterSense program in the FY2020 national budget.
We collaborated with Plumbing Manufacturers International (PMI) to establish strict guidelines for installing multiple showerheads in a single stall, thus closing a significant loophole in codes and ensuring effective water efficiency standards.
The Alliance for Water Efficiency's (AWE) Landscape Transformation Study found that consumers are ready for sustainable, water-efficient landscapes—but they need help from their water providers.
The Alliance for Water Efficiency (AWE) initiated its Outdoor Water Savings Research Initiative in 2015 to identify and clarify what programs, practices, and irrigation technologies can support effective utility-driven outdoor water efficiency programs.
2018
2018 has been a fabulous year for us at the Alliance for Water Efficiency (AWE). Our years of hard work are bearing fruit in building partnerships and highlighting our ongoing efforts to provide cutting-edge research and technical assistance. Our members tell us that we are making a difference...Making a difference is why we exist. It is gratifying to see our efforts working in so many geographies and with so many partners.
2017
2017 was a landmark year for us at AWE. We completed a year-long process of negotiating, creating legal frameworks, and strategic planning to lay the groundwork for the California Water Efficiency Partnership to become the Alliance for Water Efficiency’s first-ever state chapter. There is great synergy in the work of both organizations, and we will be stronger by having an explicit and cooperative platform for working together.
If you read the economic projections from the Dallas Fed or the Annual Economic Outlook from Texas A&M, the focus will be on the energy sector rebound from low oil prices, and manufacturing jobs, and housing starts. But water is behind all of those jobs — whether for oil exploration and production, steam electric generation or cooling for manufacturing, or the growing appetite for water in new homes and neighborhoods. And how much water Texas has — and will continue to have — shapes our economic growth.
2015
A report detailing the research compiled to date and identifying where the gaps in the research occur. The report is the first step in AWE’s project to help clarify what programs, practices, and irrigation technologies save the most water. The report was prepared for AWE by the project team of Peter Mayer, Paul Lander, and Diana Glenn. Funding for this phase one report was provided by the California Urban Water Agencies.
Description of the Project
2013
An article that presents an analysis of water use trends and avoided costs.
There is a commonly held belief in the water industry that declining per capita usage due to water conservation is forcing rate increases to compensate for fewer units of volume billed. But the rate increases necessitated by conservation are actually much smaller than the rate increases that would be necessary to account for population growth in the absence of conservation.
Never Waste is a national campaign from the Alliance for Water Efficiency (AWE) that aims to raise awareness about the amount of water we waste in our daily lives and encourage consumers to take action to reduce water waste.
The campaign quantifies the amount of water wasted by comparing it to an everyday object – a water bottle – and encourages consumers to take simple steps to eliminate their water waste. Water supplies in the United States are increasingly under pressure from a growing population, with more than 36 states facing shortages this year.
2012
AWE's consumer website Home Water Works, features an advanced household water calculator. This stunning website was created to give consumers the best and most relevant information about conserving water at home, and offers water saving tips and information about every major water-using fixture and appliance found in homes today.