The Canadian Institute of Plumbing and Heating has awarded the Vancouver Aquarium Marine Science Centre with its National Water Wise Award for the Aquarium's longstanding commitment to aquatic life conservation, education, research and innovative operating practices.

The CIPH award program was developed to recognize outstanding efforts to improve our relationship with water.

"The Vancouver Aquarium is an international leader in both innovation and results. It is impressive that a cultural institution can be such a shining light for others to follow," said Bill Palamar, CIPH chairman and president at Weil-McLain Canada. "The wide-ranging initiatives are both motivating and inspiring."

The Vancouver Aquarium engages in several important programs and specific practices, such as:

• Aquatic education programs that reach over 80,000 school children each year
• Great Canadian Shoreline Cleanup, which engages over 60,000 Canadians each year to remove trash from Canadian shorelines and raise awareness of litter in Canada's waterways
• A 215,000 litre onsite rainwater collection system that collects grey water for toilet flushing
• Drip irrigation in place of sprinklers to reduce water lost through evaporation
• High performance plumbing features, including low flow toilets, shower heads and faucets
• A weekly Water Report highlighting conservation issues related to water

"As a conservation organization, we're proud to lead nationwide direct action programs that help protect our oceans and the aquatic life that depend on it," said Dr. John Nightingale, president and CEO of Vancouver Aquarium Marine Science Centre. "Our aim is to engage millions of people to become stewards of our oceans through our Great Canadian Shoreline Cleanup or Ocean Wise programs. Our collective efforts will help reduce overfishing and ocean pollution, leading to cleaner, healthier waters."

This is the second award being presented in 2016, its inaugural year. In March, WaterAid Canada earned the inaugural CIPH Water Wise Award for its ongoing efforts to improve access to safe water, hygiene and toilets in the world's poorest communities.