Saving 2.3 Billion Gallons for a Rainy Day
LOS ANGELES, April 19, 2012 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Mayors across the
United States continue to lead their communities in a heated contest to
see whose city the most water wise.
With Earth Day around the corner, the National Mayors Challenge for
Water Conservation, a friendly online competition between cities March
30 - April 30, has generated pledges from residents in more than 1,000
cities to reduce water use over the upcoming year by 2.3 billion
gallons, eliminate 539,550 single-use water bottles, and reduce CO2
emissions by 73 million pounds.
Participating mayors include Denver Mayor Michael Hancock, Honolulu
Mayor Peter Carlisle, Houston Mayor Annise Parker, Atlanta Mayor Kasim
Reed, Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, Tucson Mayor Jonathan
Rothschild, and San Francisco Mayor Edwin Lee. Residents make a series
of water conservation pledges on behalf of their city at
www.mywaterpledge.com. City participation is tallied, then added to
daily updated Top 10 Lists in four regions of the United States.
"The top ten lists give people a way to measure how well their city is
doing in getting the message out about water conservation," said
Wyland, a renowned environmental artist whose non-profit foundation is
spearheading the challenge. "When people see their city move up in the
rankings, it motivates them to spread the word to their friends and
neighbors that everyone's efforts for conservation make a difference."
The program is in celebration of the 40th Anniversary of the Clean
Water Act and is largely underwritten by national presenting partner
Toyota. Other organizations supporting the program include the US
Environmental Protection Agency, EPA WaterSense, US Forest Service,
NOAA, WaterPik, Rain Bird, Lowe's, STERLING Plumbing, PADI and Project
AWARE.
Cities are divided into four regions (West, Midwest, South and
Northeast) and categorized by population (5,000-30,000 residents,
30,001-100,000 residents, 100,000+ residents). Cities with the highest
percentage of residents who take the challenge win. Participants in the
winning cities will be eligible to win over $50,000 in prizes,
including the Grand Prize of a Toyota Prius c Hybrid, as well as
custom-designed sprinkler systems from Rain Bird, Eco-Flow Showerheads
from WaterPik, Sterling water-saving toilets, and 1,000 gift cards from
Lowe's.
Advertisement]