District partners with Earth Advantage in Florida Water Star Program

Top and bottom left: Two Florida Water Star homes located in the St. Johns River Water Management District region. Right: Water Conservation Coordinator Deirdre Irwin.

PALATKA, Fla., Dec. 20, 2021 — The St. Johns River Water Management District and Earth Advantage Inc. recently announced a partnership to deliver water conservation certification data through the Green Building Registry (GBR).

The Florida Water Star^SM Program is a point-based home certification program, similar to the federal ENERGY STAR® program, but with a water conservation focus. It encourages water efficiency in household appliances, plumbing fixtures, irrigation systems and landscapes and promotes the economic and environmental benefits of water efficiency in new and existing homes and commercial developments. It can be effectively integrated into projects along with other programs such as ENERGY STAR, the Florida Green Building Coalition’s (FGBC) green standards, and the U.S. Green Building Council’s (USGBC) LEED program. The Florida Water Star approach can enhance projects by providing a suite of efficiency practices that focus on water use areas specific to Florida.

“The Florida Water Star Program seeks to certify water-efficient, low-maintenance homes for homebuyers in Florida thereby contributing to long-term water supply conservation and protection of natural water resources in a manner that is affordable and achievable for builders,” said Deirdre Irwin, Florida Water Star Coordinator.

GBR is a nonprofit organization, maintained by Earth Advantage Inc. with a mission to increase the use of high performance and sustainable residential building practices. Developed in 2017, GBR provides green home data to both the public and real estate listing services and will now include Florida Water Star Program data.

David Heslam, Executive Director at Earth Advantage, stated, “Nationally, Florida ranks No. 2 in the nation with the largest volume of certification data available through GBR. We’re thrilled to be adding the Florida Water Star data to not only increase the availability of this data in Florida but also because it is the first certification focused specifically on water conservation to provide data to GBR.”

The Florida Water Star Program, which was developed by the District in 2006 and launched statewide in 2012, has most recently become part of the Florida Home Builders Association (FHBA) Certified Ratings Program and is being administered by Triconic LLC.

Learn more about our Florida Star Water Program at www.floridawaterstar.com.