The City of Fort Lauderdale is teaming up to expand our water conservation resources. By joining forces with other agencies and organizations, we can offer our neighbors information about expanded conservation education, programs and rebates. These include, for example, the annual Fix a Leak Week sponsored by the U.S. EPA’s WaterSense® program, the Broward Water Partnership’s Conservation Pay$ rebate program, the annual Water Matters Day hosted by Broward County, and the nationwide Drinking Water Week hosted by the American Water Works Association.
Water conservation goes hand in hand with maintaining clean waterways, provisioning clean drinking water, and also floodplain management. Many of the partners wit whom we work on those issues are also providing resources or working with us on conservation.
The City's water conservation partners include:
The Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) mission is to protect human health and the environment. The City of Fort Lauderdale sits within EPA’s Region 4. The EPA sets the standards that we enforce through our own regulations and those of the State of Florida related to such things as air quality, water quality, and environmental clean-up. For example, our City’s Environmental Services division draws direction from the EPA in areas related to drinking water quality. The City of Fort Lauderdale is an
EPA Water Sense Partner. Every year, during
"Fix a Leak Week" in the third week of March, Fort Lauderdale encourages its neighbors to sign the pledge to commit to checking their household plumbing fixtures and irrigation systems for leaks. By locating and repairing leaks, you are not only saving water but saving money too!
Broward Water Partnership is "a government service consisting of 19 municipalities and water utilities who have come together to help save water, money and the environment." Fort Lauderdale is a participating municipality. Living in Fort Lauderdale means that you qualify to apply for a toilet rebate. To encourage installation of low flow toilets which are a key water conservation strategy, the Broward Water Partnership offers Conservation Pay$. To those in Fort Lauderdale who qualify, the Conservation Pay$ program is offering rebates of up to $200 ($100 per unit) for installing the new, high efficiency toilets.
Broward County's website offers neighbors a number of water conservation resources. The County also administers "Water Matters" which is an educational program that helps homeowners, policymakers, local businesses, and property managers understand their role in water management and conservation. The program includes projects and initiatives designed to promote water resource protection. Much of the program’s focus is on areas that are frequently overlooked but where individuals can have major influence, such as yard maintenance and watering, and surface water pollution, and drainage. The County runs, and the City of Fort Lauderdale participates in, the annual Water Matters Day.
The City of Fort Lauderdale Public Works Department won the AWWA Division 5 Water Distribution System Award in 2012. The American Water Works Association is a "...nonprofit, scientific and educational association dedicated to managing and treating water." Each May, our City, in partnership with the Florida Section of the American Water Works Association (FSAWWA), celebrates the importance of conserving our drinking water. One of the ways we have done this in the past is by participating in the Drop Savers Water Conservation Art Contest. The Drop Savers contest is designed to promote water awareness and the importance of water conservation through creative thinking and design. Students use their ideas, designs, and slogans to create posters that demonstrate their knowledge and understanding of the importance of conserving water.
The South Florida Water Management District (SFWMD) manages and protects water resources of the South Florida region by balancing and improving water quality, flood control, natural systems and water supply. SFWMD is a regional governmental agency that oversees the water resources in the southern half of the state, covering 16 counties from Orlando to the Florida Keys. It is the oldest and largest of the state's five water management districts. The City of Fort Lauderdale is a SFWMD “Water Management Partner.”
The Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP) is the lead agency in our State for environmental management and stewardship protecting our air, water and land. FDEP conserves and manages Florida's natural resources and enforces the State's environmental laws. Their regulatory priorities include, among others, protecting and restoring water quality.. The City of Fort Lauderdale is part of FDEP’s Southeast District.
The Water Research Foundation is a non-profit organization which works with partners "to identify, prioritize, fund, manage, and communicate scientifically sound research across the globe."
The American Public Works Association "...exists to develop and support the people, agencies, and organizations that plan, build, maintain, and improve our communities." The 2014 Florida Public Works Expo was held in Fort Lauderdale.
