MWSD honored for conservation efforts

Montara Water and Sanitary District has been honored for its conservation efforts by the Silicon Valley Water Conservation Awards Coalition, reports the County TImes

Montara Water & Sanitary District won the award for the small government agency/utility category for reducing the community’s already low per capita water use to just 69 gallons per day — pretty good considering the average person uses about 80 to 100 gallons per day or more, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.

"We were excited," said Clemens Heldmaier, general manager at Montara Water & Sanitary District. "The nice part is that it not only recognized that we’ve done something right, but the citizens who were a big part of this success."

"We are living in times where we can’t always expect water to come out when we turn on the faucet," Heldmaier added. "A lot of problems are associated with water, and a lot of work goes into conserving water, so I’m proud that we can set an example."

Other winners were Redwood City, Applied Materials, California Native Society, the City of San Jose’s Environmental Services Department, First Community Housing, former state Assemblyman John Laird, the Kirsch Center for Environmental Studies, Stanford University, and ValleyCrest Landscape Maintenance.