Broken Arrow City Council
Meeting of: 03-06-2018
To: Mayor and City Council
From: Utilities Department
Title:
title
Consideration, discussion, possible approval of and authorization to execute a Proclamation declaring that the City of Broken Arrow agrees with and supports the “Wyland National Mayor’s Challenge for Water Conservation” and will participate by encouraging Broken Arrow residents to take the challenge from April 1 - 30, 2018
End
Background:
If the Proclamation is approved, Mayor Thurmond will join mayors across the country in asking residents to make a 12-month commitment to manage water and energy resources more wisely by taking part in the annual Wyland National Mayor’s Challenge for Water Conservation.
The Seventh Annual Wyland National Mayorʼs Challenge for Water Conservation is a friendly non-profit competition between cities across the country, April 1 - 30, 2018, that uses a series of online pledges (mywaterpledge.com) to see which city can be the most water wise. In addition to individual reductions in water consumption, energy use, and pollution, residents can save money, help the City of Broken Arrow meet conservation goals, and earn a chance to win any of hundreds of great prizes - which include $5,000 towards home utility bills and a Toyota RAV4 Hybrid for a deserving local charity.
How It Works
1. Residents go to www.mywaterpledge.com <http://www.mywaterpledge.com/>
2. Take a 4-step conservation pledge on behalf of the City of Broken Arrow
3. See city's current standings
4. Encourage their friends to take part
Once a resident takes the challenge, they can share with hundreds of their friends and family. Residents can even track Broken Arrow’s standings throughout the month to see if they need to get even more friends and neighbors involved. We encourage residents to play to win!
The city with the highest percentage of residents who take the challenge in their population category wins. Cities will compete in the following population categories for 2018:
• 5,000 - 29,999
• 30,000 - 99,999
• 100,000 - 299,999
• 300,000 - 599,999
• 600,000+
The “Classroom Edition” allows teachers to make the online pledge to use water more efficiently on behalf of their classes and it includes 8 lesson plans that teach children about the importance of conserving water. There will be a $250 prize for each region (ours is Midwest) that will go to one teacher for classroom supplies and another $250 prize that will go to the winning teacher’s school.
Marketing/Communications:
City staff will utilize various communications tools to publicize the pledge for citizens. Messages can and will include website postings, social media messages, a dedicated social media page for conservation in Broken Arrow, an introduction video featuring the Mayor, and an invitation for residents to share videos and photos.
Last Year:
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 12 months. 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 harmful runoff into local rivers and streams.
2017 Wyland National Mayor’s Challenge for Water Conservation Highlights and Results:
• 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.
• Residents Across the U.S. Make Over 421,000 Pledges to Cut Water Use By 2.2 Billion Gallons as Part of 6th Annual Wyland National Mayor’s Challenge for Water Conservation, Presented by Toyota.
• 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.
Cost: $0
Prepared By: Lauren Wilson, Pretreatment Coordinator
Reviewed By: Anthony Daniel, Director of Utilities Department
Legal Department
Kenny Schwab, Assistant City Manager- Operations
Approved By: Michael Spurgeon, City Manager
Attachments: 2018 Wyland National Mayor’s Challenge for Water Conservation Participation Proclamation
Recommendation:
Approve the Proclamation declaring support for and participation in the 2018 Wyland National Mayor’s Challenge for Water Conservation and authorize its execution.