Round Rock's water saving efforts earned the city three conservation awards from the American Water Works Association, a water industry trade group.

Round Rock stood out among the many Central Texas cities that strive to conserve water and offer water conservation programs and incentives, said Mike Howe, executive director of the Texas section of the AWWA.

"In Round Rock's case our conservation committee was taken by the success of the program and their persistence in making it work," Howe said.

Round Rock was recognized for its rain barrel program, its reuse of treated wastewater for irrigation and its promotion of water conservation.

The awards could reflect a growing trend among city utilities in drought-stricken Texas.

Many water utilities are moving beyond promoting in-house water saving measures and pushing residents to lower their use of drinking water for irrigation through rainwater harvesting, xeriscaping and other methods, Howe said.

Rain barrels collect rainwater that runs off roofs or other areas and the practice of catching rainwater for reuse is called rainwater harvesting. Xeriscaping is a type of landscaping that greatly limits or eliminates the need for irrigation beyond rainfall by replacing grass with gravel and native, drought-tolerant plants.

More information on Round Rock's water conservation programs can be found here.

TAWWA awards

Round Rock won the "Blue Legacy Award" for its rain barrel sales, promotions and rainwater harvesting rebates, which are reimbursements residents receive for a portion of the cost of their harvesting systems.

More than 600 rain barrels were sold in the city in 2012 and rebates were provided for 34 systems. The rain barrels sold could capture 79,000 gallons of water during each rainfall event, according to a news release.

The city also won the "Water Conservation and Reuse Award" for its reuse water irrigation system, which provides water for Forest Creek Golf Course, Old Settlers Park and Dell Diamond. Reuse water is sewage that has been treated to a standard high enough to use for watering lawns but not high enough to drink. The city intends to expand reuse irrigation for some nearby higher education campuses.

TAWWA also gave Round Rock the "Watermark Award for Communication Excellence" for its series of videos promoting water conservation and reuse programs.