The Central Arizona Groundwater Replenishment District (CAGRD) is inviting homebuilders in its Member Lands and selected Member Service Areas to apply for its new Water Efficient Construction Incentive. The program offers rebates of $1,000 per WaterSense-labeled home and has at least $150,000 available between June 2023 and May 2024. CAGRD recognizes that less groundwater used by its members means it has less groundwater to replenish and less water it needs to acquire, which results in lower costs for its members and less competition for future water supplies. This type of incentive program is the first of its kind in the region and raises awareness of WaterSense-labeled homes in Central Arizona. RESNET® is a WaterSense Home Certification Organization (HCO) and HERSH2O® is a WaterSense Approved Certification Methodology. By achieving a HERSH2O® score of 70 or less and meeting a few simple requirements, builders can label their homes as WaterSense certified. Since WaterSense-labeled homes use 30 percent less water than typical new construction, CAGRD encourages homebuilders to help reduce reliance on groundwater through this incentive. Interested homebuilders can apply for the rebate by submitting an application and including the WaterSense Labeled Home Certificate for each home, for which they are claiming the rebate. A fact sheet listing qualifying locations is available and the CAGRD Membership Locator can help interested homebuilders to determine if they are in a qualifying location. Active certified RESNET® Home Energy Raters and Rating Field Inspectors are eligible to conduct HERSH2O® ratings after completing the online HERSH2O® Rater Training and viewing the WaterSense Version 2 video on the RESNET training portal. Current RESNET® accredited Rating Quality Assurance Providers (QA Providers) are eligible to become HERSH2O® Rating Providers after meeting the Implementation Guidelines for HERSH2O® and WaterSense Version 2 and completing the HERSH2O® Provider Application. For more information, visit https://www.resnet.us/about/hersh2o/
