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 is 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.
NOTE TO EDITORS: The challenge ends April 30. For current standings in the competition, visit www.mywaterpledge.com
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, is actively engaged in teaching millions of students around the county about our ocean, rivers, lakes streams, and wetlands. The foundation's latest project, FOCUS (Forests, Oceans, Climate – and us) brings together the U.S. Forest Service, NOAA, and numerous non-profits to teach young people about the future of our water supplies, climate, and global health. www.wylandfoundation.org
ADDITIONAL BACKGROUND:
Please view National League of Cities article for additional background
http://www.nlc.org/news-center/nations-cities-weekly/articles/2012/march/9a05cb07-f0a5-4a52-8874-27c63583b0ec