2015 U.S. Water Prize Winners Announced

Recently the U.S. Water Alliance announced the 5th annual U.S. Water Prize winners for 2015: the City of San Diego Public Utilities Department, California; Electric Power Research Institute, Palo Alto, California; and The Coca-Cola Company, Atlanta, Georgia. The U.S. Water Prize was created by the U.S. Water Alliance (USWA) to elevate organizations with strategies that promote the value of water and the power of innovating and integrating for one water sustainability. “These are inspiring organizations,” explained Dick Champion, Chairman of the USWA Board of Directors. “They are at the forefront of improving and protecting the health of U.S. watersheds. Through technology, collaboration, and education these organizations are driving the United States to a more sustainable water future.” Winners were selected representing municipal, non-profit, and business:

City of San Diego Public Utilities Department’s Water Purification Demonstration Project is recognized as a trailblazer for reservoir augmentation; the project findings are helping develop standards for potable reuse across the country. Their award-winning efforts have enabled the City to move forward with Pure Water San Diego, a 20-year water reuse program to supply 83 million gallons per day of drinking water locally by 2035.

The Electric Power Research Institute and a collaboration of power companies, farmers, state and federal agencies, and environmental interests have established the world’s only interstate water quality trading project. The Ohio River Basin Trading Project has built a comprehensive, scientifically-based approach for designing and developing markets for nutrient reduction credits to reduce nutrient loads in Ohio River Basin waters and improve regional water quality.

The Coca-Cola Company is delivering on its goal to be water neutral by 2020. The company is working towards this goal by safely returning to communities and nature an amount of water equal to what is used in their finished beverages. So far Coca-Cola has replenished more than 60 percent of its total beverage volume in North America. Through strong partnerships, innovative manufacturing projects, and sharing best practices the company is a corporate leader in advancing water sustainability.

Nominations were reviewed by an independent, volunteer panel of judges respected as leaders in the fields of water and environmental policy: Monica Ellis, CEO of Global Environment & Technology Foundation and Global Water Challenge; Stephanie Johnson, Senior Program Officer, National Research Council's Water Science and Technology Board; Rich Anderson, Senior Policy Advisor, U.S. Conference of Mayors Water Council; Stephen Schoenholtz, Professor, Virginia Tech, and Director of the Virginia Water Resources Research Center; Robert Sussman, former Senior Advisor to the Administrator of U.S. EPA.

Winners will be honored in an awards ceremony at National Geographic headquarters in Washington D.C., on April 13, 2015. The recognition program will be attended by more than 300 water leaders from throughout the United States.

About The U.S. Water Alliance
The U.S. Water Alliance was formed in 2008 as a 501c3 nonprofit educational organization whose goal is to unite people and policy for “one water” sustainability. The Alliance awards the U.S. Water Prize and organizes the One Water Leadership Summit annually. A broad cross-section of interests has come together through the Alliance to advance holistic, watershed-based solutions to water quality and quantity challenges. For more information, www.USWaterAlliance.org.