Five U.S. Cities Named Most Water Wise

IRVINE, Calif., May 18, 2017 -- Residents from more than 4,800 cities across the United States took part in the 2017 Wyland National Mayor’s Challenge for Water Conservation, April 1-30, by pledging to save over 2.2 billion gallons of water over the next year. The annual month-long campaign to promote drought resiliency and water quality ended on April 30 with mayors from 38 states vying to see whose city could be the nation’s most “water wise.”

The cities with the highest percentage of residents making pledges during the campaign included Laguna Beach, Calif., Flagstaff, Ariz., Athens, Ga., Aurora, Colo., and Dallas, Texas. Overall, residents around the nation, from Anchorage to the Florida Keys, made 421,891 pledges to change behaviors ranging from fixing home leaks to reducing pollution into local rivers and streams.

The challenge, presented by the Wyland Foundation and Toyota, with support from the U.S EPA, National League of Cities, The Toro Company, Earth Friendly Products – maker of ECOS, and Conserva Irrigation, addresses the growing importance of educating consumers about the many ways they use water.

“This year’s challenge took a hard look at things we can all do to reduce our impact on our lakes, rivers, streams, and wetlands,” said marine life artist and founder Wyland. “The more we can do to reduce harmful runoff into our water systems, the more we can provide long-term sustainable benefits to our communities.”

Residents from winning cities will be entered into a drawing for over $50,000 in water-saving or eco-friendly prizes, including the grand prize, a 2017 Toyota Prius Prime Plug-in Hybrid. Additional prizes include, "Greening Your Home" cleaning kits from Earth Friendly Products (ECOS), home irrigation equipment from the The Toro Company, EcoRain and Eco-Flow Showerheads from Waterpik, and more. A $500 home improvement store shopping spree will also be chosen from among the entire pool of U.S. participants.

In addition to reducing water, challenge participants in 50 states pledged to reduce the use of millions of 4.7 million single-use plastic water bottles and eliminate 114,000 pounds of hazardous waste from entering watersheds. By altering daily lifestyle choices, pledges also resulted in potentially 52.5 million fewer pounds in landfills. Potential savings of 14.6 million gallons of oil, 7.8 billion pounds of carbon dioxide, 156.8 million kilowatt hours of electricity, and $35.5 million in consumer cost savings rounded out the final pledge results.

About the Wyland Foundation

Founded in 1993 by environmental artist Wyland (best known for his series of 100 monumental marine life murals), the Wyland Foundation, a 501c3 non-profit organization, brings together communities to become more solution-oriented stewards of our global marine resources. The foundation reaches hundreds of thousands of people each year through traveling exhibitions, classroom art and science programs, digital media, and community events.  Learn more at www.wylandfoundation.org.

CONTACT: 

Jonathan Abramson at (619) 807-6349 [email protected]
Steve Creech at (949) 643-7070 or [email protected]