The Georgia Institute of Technology and The Home Depot have joined forces to promote water conservation in four communities contiguous to the Georgia Tech campus.

Georgia Tech’s Institute Partnerships department is opening doors to community neighborhood associations and schools in the Centennial Place, English Avenue, Home Park and Midtown areas for representatives from The Home Depot to share expertise and direction on how residents can save water. Presentations focusing on low-flow toilets, shower and faucet installation are being made to local neighborhood and tenant associations, parent-teacher association meetings, and in the classrooms of participating schools. Participants also learn about general water conservation measures for their homes, and those who attend receive complimentary gift cards to The Home Depot.

“Georgia Tech’s mission is not only to set an example for environmental stewardship, but to make sure that our neighbors have access to the resources they need to make conservation a way of life,” said Andrea Ashmore, director of Georgia Tech Institute Partnerships. “Recent winter rains certainly have been welcome, but have not alleviated the importance of conserving our water resources.”

“Protecting and preserving our water supply is critical to our environment, our economy and our health,” said J.T. Rieves, regional vice president for The Home Depot. “Simple tips and products, such as low-flow products for the home, can make a tremendous impact on the amount of water residents use. We are happy to help educate Atlantans on the importance of water conservation.”

Water conservation seminars will be held through May. Additionally, Georgia Tech’s Center for Education Integrating Science, Math and Computing (CEISMC) is working with The Home Depot to adapt the home improvement retailers’ water conservation information into a curriculum for six partnering schools for the 2008/09 school year. These schools include Centennial Place Elementary, Inman Middle, Grady High, Bethune Elementary, Kennedy Middle and Washington High. Eventually, the goal is to make these curriculum materials available to all Atlanta Public Schools as well as other systems throughout the state.

About The Home Depot
The Home Depot� is the world’s largest home improvement specialty retailer, with 2,243 retail stores in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, 10 Canadian provinces, Mexico and China. In fiscal 2007, The Home Depot had sales of $77.3 billion and earnings from continuing operations of $4.2 billion. The Company employs approximately 350,000 associates. The Home Depot’s stock is traded on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE: HD) and is included in the Dow Jones industrial average and Standard & Poor’s 500 index.

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The Georgia Institute of Technology is one of the nation's premiere research universities. Ranked seventh among U.S. News & World Report's top public universities, Georgia Tech's more than 18,000 students are enrolled in its Colleges of Architecture, Computing, Engineering, Liberal Arts, Management and Sciences. Tech is among the nation's top producers of women and African-American engineers. The Institute offers research opportunities to both undergraduate and graduate students and is home to more than 100 interdisciplinary units plus the Georgia Tech Research Institute.