Laird Receives Prestigious Water Conservation Award

SANTA CRUZ – The California Urban Water Conservation Council (CUWCC) this week awarded Assemblymember John Laird (D-Santa Cruz) the 2007 Mike Moynanhan Excellence Award for Statewide Innovation.  According to the CUWCC, this is the first time in the 8-year history of the award that it has been given to a legislator.  Key criteria for award eligibility include innovation, commitment, dedication, integrity, creativity and outstanding service in the field of water resource efficiency.  Specifically, Mr. Laird was recognized as the author of the following water conservation-related bills:

• AB 2717, which created a Landscape Water Conservation Task Force to make recommendations to the legislature on improvements in landscape water conservation.
• AB 1881, which adopted the legislation recommendation from the Task Force, including improvements to landscape irrigation equipment, requirement for dual meters for large landscapes and a new Model Ordinance.
• AB 715, which establishes California as the first state to require the installation of high-efficiency toilets and urinals, to be phased in over the next seven years.
• AB 1420, which requires as a condition of eligibility for state water management grants, that urban water suppliers implement water conservation measures in order to increase water use and energy efficiency in urban areas.

The award is inscribed with the following:

“When landscape watering needed cutting, you were there. When recommendations needed following, you said ‘follow them’. When toilets were ready to be improved, you improved them. When water needed measuring, and water savings needed rewarding, you were ready with a bill or two.

Your leadership in water conservation has been a boon for California. You are an example to the country, striking fear in water wasters everywhere.”

About the California Urban Water Conservation Council

The California Urban Water Conservation Council was created to increase efficient water use statewide through partnerships among urban water agencies, public interest organizations, and private entities. The Council's goal is to integrate urban water conservation Best Management Practices into the planning and management of California's water resources.

A historic Memorandum of Understanding was signed by nearly 100 urban water agencies and environmental groups in December, 1991. Since then the Council has grown to 384 members. Those signing the MOU pledge to develop and implement fourteen comprehensive conservation Best Management Practices (BMPs).