Santa Fe joins nationwide challenge to be most water-wise.
Javier Gonzales, Mayor of Santa Fe, is joining mayors across the country in asking residents to make a commitment to conserve water and cut pollution by taking part in a national contest aimed at drastically slashing water and energy use across the nation – and in return residents have a chance at winning a new Toyota Prius, water saving fixtures, and hundreds of other prizes.
The Wyland Mayor’s Challenge for Water Conservation, April 1-30, is a non-profit national community service campaign to see which leaders can best inspire their residents to make a series of informative and easy-to-do online pledges to reduce water and energy usage.
“Our low per-capita water use is evidence that most people in Santa Fe are already good at conserving water. This competition is a chance for us to tell the whole country just how good we are,” said Mayor Gonzales. “At the same time, those who take the pledge might get a chance to win a car.”
Mayor Gonzales is encouraging Santa Fe residents to conserve water, save energy, and reduce pollution on behalf of Santa Fe at mywaterpledge.com throughout the month of April. Last year, residents from 3,900 cities in all 50 U.S. states pledged to reduce their annual consumption of freshwater by 1.5 billion gallons, reduce waste sent to landfills by 47 million pounds, and prevent more than 141,000 pounds of hazardous waste from entering our watersheds.
To participate, residents enter online at mywaterpledge.com and make a series of online pledges to conserve water on behalf of Santa Fe. Cities compete in the following population categories: 5,000-29,999 residents, 30,000-99,999 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 entered into drawings for hundreds of eco-friendly prizes, including home improvement gift cards, home irrigation equipment, and a Grand Prize Toyota Prius. The challenge also features additional resources for residents to take their commitment of conservation even further, from regional water and energy resource issues to cost-saving tips at home.