In Drought Response, Home Depot Holds Nationwide Conservation Workshops

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In this photo taken Aug. 15, 2011, a customer enters a North Little Rock, Ark., Home Depot store.

Image: Danny Johnston/Associated Press

By Ann-Marie Alcántara2014-04-24 19:30:13 UTC

The Home Depot is taking its "more saving, more doing" slogan an environmental level. This weekend, it's hosting nationwide water conservation workshops to encourage homeowners to start conserving more water.

Drought conditions across the Southwest are not expected to improve or end anytime soon and homeowners are being forced to restrict their water usage. In response, Home Depot is holding a series of 10 water conservation workshops on Saturday, April 26, in each of its 1,977 stores.

The total conservation effort by Home Depot includes the workshops, as well as remodeling its in-store layout to direct customers to actions they can take to conserve water in their homes.

The workshops will cover different types of home improvement projects that focus on conserving water in simple ways. For example, encouraging customers to switch to EPA WaterSense certified dual flush toilets or faucets. EPA WaterSense products are water-efficient and have helped "save 487 billion gallons of water and over $8.9 billion in water and energy bills," according to the EPA. Home Depot also boasts positive results — helping save 42.5 billion gallons of water through WaterSense products in 2013, according to a press release.

Joe McFarland, president of the Home Depot western division, says that replacing toilets and shower heads with EPA WaterSense technology, as well as adding a water saving aerator to an existing faucet are the easiest and most applicable projects for the everyday person. "These three projects can save 7,000 gallons of water a year, with $200 in savings," says McFarland to Mashable. "To do these three projects, it will cost a consumer $75 or less."

As for the in-store improvements, the company is using signage to influence a customer's choice between choosing products that can conserve water and those that don't. Employees are also trained to offer specific state and municipal rebates to customers who qualify for purchasing water-efficient or energy-efficient products. "We want to help the customer understand what those rebates are and what they look like," says McFarland. "A lot of our stores already have the rebate form printed out and ready for the customer."

Pictured here is The Home Depot's new displays showing customers how they can conserve water with certain products.

The Home Depot's new displays showing customers how they can conserve water with certain products.

Image: The Home Depot

Internally, the company is also pushing to become more water efficient. In the last three years, The Home Depot has completed over 800 restroom remodels, with dual flush and low flush toilets and faucets installed. The company has also created 100 reclamation water tanks across the country. "We continue to take steps, both externally as well as internally, to make certain that we are doing our part on water savings," says McFarland.

Across the Southwest, "water wars" are beginning to take place. Wichita Falls, Tex., for example, is currently in a “Stage 4 Drought Disaster,” which includes bans on all outdoor irrigation or watering, among other restrictions. City officials are considering increasing water restrictions to a “Stage 5 Drought Catastrophe.”

The Home Depot's free workshops will run from 10 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. local time and participants can register online.

"We are really proud to do this nationally," says McFarland. "We are looking forward to the workshops on Saturday and [want to do more] things like this in the future."

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