2015 US Water Prize Winners
The City of San Diego
Drought, climate change, and other water reliability issues have intensified the need for new water sources. Driving toward San Diego’s one water future, the successful completion of the Water Purification Demonstration Project enabled the launch of Pure Water San Diego, a 20-year water reuse program. The US Water Alliance awarded the 2015 Water Prize to the City of San Diego to shine a spotlight on this project which will supply 83 million gallons of drinking water locally by 2035. This represents a critical step forward in the development of a reliable, sustainable, and diversified local water supply through a focus on innovation, integration, and education.
Coca-Cola Company
“By 2020, safely return to communities and nature the amount of water used in finished beverages and their production.” That is Coca-Cola’s commitment to securing a one water future and why the US Water Alliance selected this global company as a 2015 Water Prize Winner. Coca-Cola is on track to exceed their aspirational goal of achieving a “water balance.” Coca-Cola’s achieves its water stewardship goals through diverse, locally-focused community water projects. Those projects often grow out of Coca-Cola’s source water vulnerability assessments, which the company conducts for each of its bottling plants. In 2014 alone, Coca-Cola returned 108.5 billion liters of water through 509 community projects in more than 100 countries. Pursuing synergies among source water protection and replenish programs enables Coca-Cola to identify and implement projects that support the sustainability of local watersheds and communities, while mitigating risk.
Electric Power Research Institute
A one water future will require we take into account environmental impacts from diverse sources. Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) received a 2015 Water Prize for its commitment to science and collaboration, because EPRI has resolved key hurdles in the deployment of water quality trading. Since 2009, EPRI and power companies, farmers, state and federal agencies, and environmental interests developed an interstate Water Quality Trading (WQT) program in Ohio, Indiana, and Kentucky. Focused on environmental impacts from diverse sources, the project has facilitated broad, non-traditional collaborations to achieve a common goal of water quality improvements and environmental improvements. The EPRI project has become a national model and will be an important template for protecting waters in the United States in the coming decades.