March 18, 2024

Indoor Retrofits Help Savings Add Up

In honor of the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Fix a Leak Week from March 18-24, we are highlighting Northern Water partnerships that offer indoor water savings opportunities. 

Since 2018, Northern Water’s Water Efficiency Department has been purchasing EPA WaterSense-labeled indoor water fixtures to donate to a variety of stakeholders including municipalities, non-profits and individual residents who attend our events.  Faucet aerators and showerheads were also recently distributed to our partners at Energy Resource Center (ERC), allowing users to save 700 and 2,700 gallons of water each year, respectively, according to WaterSense. To date, ERC has received over 500 showerheads and more than 400 faucet aerators. 

Our support for indoor water efficiency was expanded in 2020 to include ultra-high efficiency toilets that use just 0.8 gallons per flush through a partnership with Larimer County Conservation Corps (LCCC). LCCC partners with Fort Collins Utilities and Loveland Water and Power to provide utility customers free home efficiency assessments that include the installation of high-efficiency showerheads, aerators and toilets. 

Energy Resource Center Staff
Energy Resource Center (ERC) staff receive donation of water efficient fixtures.

To expand the number of completed assessments and maximize water savings, Northern Water provides funding to cover the material cost of all fixtures installed by LCCC in Fort Collins and Loveland. So far, we have invested in nearly 500 toilets, 1,500 aerators and almost 500 showerheads. 

The home efficiency program has been so popular that Weld County Youth Conservation Corps is in the process of creating a similar program to provide indoor water efficiency services to communities in Weld County. Northern Water is committed to supporting this initiative in a similar way to our LCCC partnership. 

Through all our partnerships, we have purchased or distributed nearly 500 ultra-high efficiency toilets, 3,500 faucet aerators and almost 2,000 showerheads for an estimated annual savings of 11.2 million gallons of water. Weare proud to support indoor water efficiency in Northern Colorado and look forward to developing new partnerships in the future.