The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is accepting nominations for the 2007 Water Efficiency Leader Awards to recognize organizations and individuals that demonstrate leadership and innovation in water efficient- products and practices.

Nominations are being accepted until August 17. Winners will be chosen by a panel of national water experts and based on three criteria: leadership, innovation, and water saved.

"Ben Franklin said: ‘We know the wealth of water when the well runs dry’.” said EPA Assistant Administrator for Water Benjamin H. Grumbles. “EPA's WEL program taps into that wisdom and spreads the word about water efficiency leadership to protect precious resources and cut water waste."

The Water Efficiency Leader Awards help foster a nationwide ethic of water efficiency, which is critical to the growing U.S. economy and quality of life. Water and energy are closely linked. An example of this is that running a hot water faucet for five minutes consumes as much energy as using a 60-watt light bulb for 14 hours.

The importance of water efficiency also is reflected in WaterSense, a voluntary partnership begun by EPA to educate consumers about making smart water choices that save money and maintain high environmental standards without compromising performance., 2007. It is anticipated that the winners will be announced in late fall 2007.

For more information, visit the 2007 Water Efficiency Leader Awards webpage.

7/20/2007