Habitat Hillsborough Receives Florida Water Star Certification on New Homes

The Southwest Florida Water Management District has certified a new Habitat for Humanity home in Tampa under the Florida Water Star program.  Florida Water Star^SM is a water conservation certification program for new and existing homes and commercial developments. Standards and guidelines for water efficiency are included for indoor fixtures, appliances and landscape design.

Habitat for Humanity of Hillsborough County is committed to building homes that provide the opportunity for sustainable homeownership.  Habitat Hillsborough’s approach to sustainability combines education, “sweat equity”, quality construction and an affordable mortgage.  Quality construction includes wind mitigation (to ensure affordable insurance rates), durable products (to ensure low operational costs) and energy efficiency and water conservation (to ensure low utility costs).  All new homes are certified under the U.S. Department of Energy’s Energy Star Program (yielding significant electric savings to homeowners) and now under the Florida Water Star program (yielding significant water savings to homeowners).  To achieve the Florida Water Star certification, homes are built with low flow fixtures (1.28 gallons per flush for toilets and less than 2 gallons per minute for showers), water savings appliances, and Florida Friendly landscaping.

Commenting on the Florida Water Star certification, Ron Spoor, Habitat Hillsborough COO suggested: “We are focused on providing Habitat homebuyers with the opportunity to build long-term strength, stability and self-reliance.  By incorporating water conservation into home design and construction, we are working in partnership with homebuyers to promote lasting success.”