Non-Profit National “Mayors Challenge for Water Conservation” Begins April 1, 2015
IRVINE, CA – With at least 36 states facing water shortages this year, mayors across the country will be asking residents to make a commitment to conserve water and cut pollution by taking part in the “Mayor’s Challenge for Water Conservation,” which aims to drastically slash water and energy use across the nation. Besides conserving water and energy, residents can win a new Toyota Prius Plug-In, water saving fixtures, and hundreds of other prizes by participating in the 30-day challenge period.
Presented nationally by the Wyland Foundation and Toyota, with support from the U.S EPA’s Office of Water, National League of Cities, U.S. Forest Service, The Toro Company, Wondergrove Kids, Bytelaunch, and WaterSmart Software, mayors and officials nationwide are encouraged to challenge their residents to conserve water, save energy, and reduce pollution on behalf of their city at www.mywaterpledge.com throughout the month of April.
In addition to helping the environment, mayors earn bragging rights about winning the a non-profit competition to see which leaders can best inspire their residents to make a series of informative, easy-to-use online pledges to reduce water and energy usage.
“Whether it’s drought conditions in the West or the high costs of energy related to water use in the East, saving water has become one of the most important issues facing the nation today,” said Wyland, marine and conservation artist and president of the Wyland Foundation.
Last year, residents from over 3600 cities in all 50 U.S. states pledged to reduce their annual consumption of freshwater by over a billion gallons, reduce waste sent to landfills by 36 million pounds, prevent more than 70 million pounds of hazardous waste from entering our watersheds, a reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 5.3 billion pounds. Participants have included mayors from Seattle, Houston, Denver, Washington, D.C., Los Angeles, Honolulu, San Diego, San Francisco, Long Beach, Calif., and Miami.
To Participate: Residents enter the name of their city at mywaterpledge.com, then make a series of online pledges to conserve water on behalf of their city. Cities compete in these population categories: (5,000″ 29,999 residents, 30,000 “99,999 residents, 100,000″299,999 residents, 300,000″599,999 residents, and 600,000+ residents). Cities with the highest percentage of residents who take the challenge in their population category are deemed the winner. Residents from those cities are entered to win an array of environmentally positive prizes. Residents also discover resources in their area to take their commitment of conservation even further, from regional water and energy resource issues to cost-saving tips at home.
