Water Resources Center

Stop 3. Water Resources Center

Our journey continues in search of buildings, businesses, and organizations that demonstrate water conservation methods in Athens-Clarke County.  The next stop is the Bob Snipes Water Resources Center (WRC) located off Barber Street (I'm sure you've seen it on your way to Terrapin :)  The WRC is a water and wastewater laboratory along with an educational facility.  It highlights 5 sustainable and water saving elements both within and around the building.  We will discuss each of these 5 elements over the next few blogs.

The first element is the actual building itself.  The WRC is Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certified.  What exactly is LEED, you ask??  Well, LEED is an international green building certification program that ensures the entire lifecycle of a building is environmentally friendly.  

The WRC gained LEED status by:

• Installing WaterSense efficient plumbing fixtures to reduce water waste by 40%
• Recycling 75% of construction debris
• Designing the roof to minimize heat absorption and maximize energy efficiency
• Planting drought-tolerant plants to reduce water used by irrigation
• Including education in the design

WaterSense dual flush toilet meets EPA criteria

Construction of the Roof

Educational Displays in the Atrium






The benefits of the WRC as a LEED building include reduction in operating costs, reduction in construction waste sent to landfills, conservation of water and energy, providing healthier and safer environment for workers and visitors, and reduction in greenhouse gas emissions.  The public is welcome to visit the WRC Monday through Friday 8:30am - 4:30pm.

Ten Thousand Gallons

Guest Blog in honor of Fix a Leak Week!

By Veronica Blette

“Uh-oh, that can’t be good,” I thought as I entered my house to hear the sound of running water. I went upstairs to find that the flapper on my toilet had become stuck in the open position, which led to its earnest, yet futile, efforts to fill the bowl all day long. Yes, while I spent my day in the office trying to advance a nationwide ethic of water efficiency, water was running down my drain. My water bill for the month almost doubled as a result of that one day of wasted toilet filling.

So, what’s the connection with 10,000 gallons? That’s how much water we waste in our houses each year through leaks! Across the country, easy-to-fix household leaks add up to more than one trillion gallons of water lost annually, robbing homeowners of 12 percent of their water bill.
Less than one percent of the Earth’s water is available for human use, and managing water is a growing concern in the United States. Using water more efficiently and avoiding waste helps maintain supplies at safe levels now and for future generations.

That’s why we are encouraging homeowners to find and fix leaks during the third annual Fix a Leak Week, March 18 – 24, 2013. Be for water and start saving today with three simple steps:

1. Check
First, check your home for leaks. You can detect silent toilet leaks, a common water-wasting culprit, by adding food coloring to the toilet tank and waiting 10 minutes before flushing. If color appears in the bowl, your toilet has a leak.

2. Twist
Give leaking faucet and showerhead connections a firm twist to ensure that pipe connections are sealed tight. For additional savings, twist WaterSense labeled aerators onto bathroom faucets to use 30 percent less water without noticing a difference in flow.

3 .Replace
If you just can’t nip that drip, it may be time to replace the fixture. Look for WaterSense labeled models, which use at least 20 percent less water and are independently certified to perform as well as or better than standard models.

Don’t find yourself in my shoes. Take these simple steps and reduce the potential for leaks lurking in your life. Want to do more? Join my team and thousands of your neighbors by supporting the We’re for Water campaign. Visit take the I’m for Water pledge and “like” WaterSense on Facebook.

About the author: Veronica Blette leads EPA’s WaterSense program. Veronica has been with the Agency for more than thirteen years and, going forward, will always make sure the toilet is not running before she goes to work.