Since 2022, the Society has honored outstanding efforts in water conservation through its Annual Water Conservation Innovation Award. Last year, the award was presented to Tampa Bay Water and Eddie Duvall of DVI Water Management for their dedication to the Florida irrigation industry. Many thanks to Rainbird for sponsoring the award.

Tampa Bay Water

Tampa Bay Water created and manages the Tampa Bay Water Wise Program. The program is a partnership among Tampa Bay Water, six of their member governments and the Southwest Florida Water Management District.  The Tampa Bay Water Wise Program is one of the largest water conservation rebate programs in the state with a long-term goal of saving 3.8 million gallons of water per day by 2030.  The program consists of 20 rebate options for water-efficient devices, Florida-friendly Landscaping and Florida Water Star certifications.

Additionally, for the last couple of decades, Tampa Bay Water has coordinated and hosted a monthly water Conservation Coordinators Consortium that brings together water conservation and Florida-Friendly Landscaping practitioners in the region to promote water efficiency inside and outside of homes and commercial projects. In addition, they work with local partners to educate residents about irrigation restrictions and water conservation efforts. 

Eddie Duvall, DVI Water Management Kings Ridge Community Project

The development includes 16 subdivisions with different maintenance companies under the master HOA and Eddie Duvall oversees Master HOA maintenance. A few years ago, this community was exceeding it permit allocation and Duval worked tirelessly with several partners to bring water use down.

• Customer education - identify their role in the water use
• A long term budget planning to upgrade system
• Wiring upgrades
• Worked with the City of Clermont for reclaimed water, saving an estimated 200k gallons of water a week
• Improved design of appropriate sized pipes and adjusted pressure issues to improve efficiency
• Timing of plant replacements (June – Sept) to limit water requirements
• 48-hour turnaround on repairs is mandated
• No changes to irrigation system without approval

Nominations are now open for the 2025 Water Conservation Innovation Award. If you know an individual or organization demonstrating exceptional commitment to protecting Florida’s water resources, click here to nominate them.