EPA Bestows Top Water Efficiency Award
to City of Seattle Employee
Seattle Public Utilities Employee Recognized
for Water Conservation Efforts

For immediate release: 12/07/07
For more information, Contact:
Seattle Public Utilities Customer Service: (206) 684-3000

SEATTLE – One of the key architects of Seattle’s innovative water conservation programs has been recognized on the national stage for his efforts.

Al Dietemann of Seattle Public Utilities was awarded the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Water Efficiency Leader (WEL) Award for 2007. Mr. Dietemann was one of six winners of the WEL award this year but the only individual to receive the award.

EPA Assistant Administrator for Water, Benjamin H. Grumbles, said that Mr. Dietemann has been a leader in promoting water conservation for more than 20 years.

“Mr. Dietemann is being specifically recognized for the Seattle Water Supply System Regional 1% Program,” Mr. Grumbles said. “This 10-year effort, now in its seventh year, reduces water consumption for businesses, government and homeowners.”

Dietemann was also recognized for his central role in promoting consumer product water efficiency, such as product labeling and inclusion of water efficiency standards in the Department of Energy’s appliance efficiency standards.

For the last 20 years, Dietemann has championed many of the water efficiency programs in Seattle and surrounding cities, which have led to huge reductions in water consumption.

The recently-released 2006 Regional Water Conservation Annual Report found that residents in Seattle and surrounding areas cut their drinking water consumption by more than 20 percent in 2006 compared to 1986. This progress is even more astounding because the regional population increased almost 20 percent over the same period.

Mr. Grumbles will congratulate Dietemann for his award at a demonstration of WaterSense-labeled high-efficiency toilets at 10:30 a.m. today (Friday Dec. 7) at Novelle Condominiums, 901 N.E. 43rd Street in Seattle.

WEL award winners were chosen by a panel of national water experts and based on three criteria: leadership, innovation and water saved. The WEL Awards help foster a nationwide ethic of water efficiency, which is critical to the growing U.S. economy and quality of life. Due to demographic shifts, increased demand, and aging water infrastructure, there is a national need for more efficient use of our water resources.

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Seattle Public Utilities