News
NGWA, Green Builder Coalition partner on water conservation program

Westerville, OH – The National Ground Water Association and the Green Builder Coalition have signed a two-year agreement for the promotion of sustainable ground water practices through the Water Efficiency Rating Score program (WERS), a tool developed to help improve residential water use practices.

The current NGWA long-range plan has an emphasis on ground water sustainability, with a specific objective to help address water conservation practice, the NGWA said in a news release.

“NGWA seeks partners to help us explain the importance of the resource and the things we each can do to use the resource wisely, including among our homes, our farms, and in industry,” NGWA chief executive officer Kevin McCray, said in the release. “We are excited to partner with the Green Builder Coalition to provide promotional assistance on the benefits of sustainable ground water practices as a way to further water efficiency.”

“One of the big themes of the WERS program is to utilize the water that falls on the site. For rural homeowners, this is vitally important,” said Mike Collignon, executive director of the coalition. “It makes a lot of sense for us to partner with NGWA, since both organizations have a message that is relevant to a variety of audiences, from individual well owners to municipal planners.”

The agreement calls for support of “Protect Your Groundwater Day,” as well as cross-promotion of NGWA and WERS events to members of NGWA and the coalition. There will also be a session on WERS during NGWA’s Groundwater Week, Dec. 6-8, 2016, in Las Vegas.

Since February 2014, the coalition has helped develop the WERS program for new and existing residential properties. The first WERS verifier-training course was held in March 2016, with more courses coming throughout the year