WaterSense: Making Every Drop Count#
WaterSense is a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) program to promote and enhance water-efficient products and services.
The City of Fort Collins became a WaterSense Partner to help our customers conserve water for future generations and reduce costs on their water bills.
WaterSense Tips of the Month#
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Resolve to Save Water
- Make a resolution to save water; commit to use WaterSense inside, outdoors and at work.
- Planning an addition this year? Plumb it with a little WaterSense and save water, time, and money.
- It pays to save water. Fort Collins Utilities offers rebates to residential water customers for WaterSense labeled toilets, washing machines and sprinkler equipment. Commercial water customers can also get rebates on toilets and sprinkler equipment.
- Want to learn about sustainable landscapes? Sign up now for the High Plains Landscape Symposium.
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Snuggle up with savings this winter. Sign up for a free Larimer County home efficiency assessment.
- Give your Valentine a romantic getaway or spring trip at a hotel that saves water.
- Water and energy savings—a perfect pair. Show your utility bill some love and savings with WaterSense labeled products. Get even more love and savings with Fort Collins Utilities rebates.
- Sign up for a class at the Gardens on Spring Creek and learn how to save water outdoors.
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Fix a Leak Week
- Spring forward to water savings by checking for leaks. Use these tips from Fort Collins Utilities to find out if you have any leaks in your home.
- This Fix a Leak Week (March 14-20), join the chase by checking, twisting and replacing your way to water savings.
- Learn how to fix a leak to add water and energy savings to your pot of gold. Watch the tutorial videos to fix leaks in just a couple easy steps!
- On World Water Day (March 22), conserve water to ensure that future generations have access to our most precious resource.
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Water-Smart Landscaping
- Catch spring fever and shape up your lawn with WaterSense's springtime landscaping tips.
- Help the City of Fort Collins with the National Mayor's Challenge for Water Conservation. Pledge to conserve today.
- From coast to coast, choose low water-using plants native to your region to save water in the garden. Fort Collins Utilities Xeriscape Incentive Program will help you make the right choices for our region.
- Spring cleaning? Get acquainted with your water bill and clean up on savings indoors and out.
- Earth Day is April 22. How are you conserving water? Use the Home Water Works calculator to find out what you can do to conserve.
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Sprinkler Spruce-Up
- Surprise Mom with a beautiful landscape that saves water all year.
- It's time for a sprinkler spruce-up. Inspect, connect, direct and select before you elect to water this summer. And when you turn on your sprinkler system this season, be sure to sign up for a free sprinkler checkup.
- Your plants need water, not your driveway. Quench their thirst and save by redirecting sprinklers to apply water only to the landscape. Check out more water wise lawn care tips.
- Catching up on yard work this month? Aerate soil to improve water flow to the plant's root zone and reduce water runoff.
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Be a Summer Water Saver
- WaterSense has helped consumers save billions in water, energy and utility bills. Check out the annual water conservation report to see what Fort Collins Utilities has done to conserve water.
- Do your part to save water for future generations by watering smarter this summer.
- Use water wisely in your yard. Attend the Xeriscape Garden Party to learn how.
- Reduce landscape evaporation by not watering in the middle of the day. Check out more water wise lawn care tips.
- Cool off with rebates on your favorite WaterSense labeled sprinkler controller.
- It's not too late to sign up for a free sprinkler checkup. Sign up today and start saving water in your yard.
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Declare Independence From Water Waste
- Replace your sprinkler's controller with a WaterSense labeled sprinkler controller. Fort Collins water customers can apply for a rebate.
- We want YOU to get a free checkup for your sprinkler system and save water.
- Water smarter outdoors with these tips from WaterSense.
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- Start saving water in your home today with these tips from WaterSense. To save even more water and reduce utility costs in your home, sign up for a home efficiency assessment.
- Be a trendsetter in Fort Collins and think about becoming a WaterSense labeled new home.
- Wash full loads of laundry to reduce cycles run and save water. Replacing a clothes washer? Rebates are available.
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- Don’t wear white; try going green. This Labor Day, twist on a WaterSense labeled faucet aerator and save.
- School is back in session; practice your calculations using the water usage calculator from Home Water Works.
- Are you an educator preparing lesson plans? Add water efficiency to your syllabus with WaterSense resources. And check out the education opportunities and programs Fort Collins Utilities offers for youth and adults.
- Find your water sense IQ; play an interactive game with Flo.
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- Freshen up with a WaterSense labeled showerhead to save both water and energy.
- Pre-1994 toilets use 3.5 to 7 gallon per flush. If you have an older home and the bathrooms haven’t been updated, your household can easily save thousands of gallons of water a year by installing high-efficiency toilets. Rebates on qualified WaterSense toilets are available to Fort Collins Utilities water customers.
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- Turn daylight savings into water savings with rebates on WaterSense labeled products.
- On World Toilet Day, give thanks for each flush. 2.6 billion people don’t have access to proper sanitation.
- In charge of the turkey this Thanksgiving? Save water by thawing it overnight rather than using a running tap.
- From the food on our plates to a shower at the end of the day, be thankful for water and everything it provides.
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- If you’re hosting guests, save water in the kitchen with simple tips from WaterSense.
- Make your holiday shopping list and check it twice for the WaterSense label on products certified to perform well. Don’t forget your rebate.
- A house full of holiday guests can still be water-efficient. Run your dishwasher only when it’s fully loaded.
- Give yourself the gift of savings by checking for leaks in your home.
More Information#
The aim of the WaterSense program is to decrease indoor and outdoor water use through high-efficiency products and simple water-saving practices. By setting performance and water use specifications, WaterSense helps consumers identify products that work well and save water. WaterSense products must:
- Perform as well or better than their less efficient counterparts.
- Be about 20 percent more water efficient than average products in that category.
- Be independently certified.
Toilets were the first products to be certified with the WaterSense label. Under federal law, toilets must not exceed 1.6 gallons per flush (gpf), but WaterSense labeled toilets use just 1.28 gpf or less. To date, more than 4,000 toilet models carry the label by being independently tested to ensure they meet rigorous criteria for both performance and efficiency. WaterSense has also expanded to include thousands of faucet and showerhead models.
As WaterSense labeled products continue to be available in the marketplace, it is easy for you to identify and select a variety of quality, high-efficiency products and services. As part of Senate Bill 14-103, only WaterSense products are sold in Colorado.
Check out the rebates Utilities offers to residential and commercial customers for WaterSense labeled products.
Find out more about the WaterSense program or see a list of labeled products.
Learn about high water use and how to identify and fix household leaks.
Did You Know?
Fort Collins Utilities is community-owned. Because of that, our customers benefit from lower rates and revenues that stay here.
Planting fast-growing vines is a quick way to block unwanted summer sun. You'll get results in months.
You can save water when washing smaller loads by selecting the setting for the corresponding water level.