Wyland National Mayor’s Challenge 2025

2025 Wyland National Mayor’s Challenge

(U.S. Mayors; City Leaders Only)

Although the program is on hiatus for updates this year, we encourage you to plan to participate in 2025. You can start by signing the letter of support now for next year’s campaign and we’ll send you additional information, promotion materials, one-of-a-kind water saving activities for your residents, and ideas for making the national water challenge a success in your city.

SAMPLE STATEMENT:

“As a leader committed to efficient use of natural resources, I support the mission of the Mayor’s Challenge for Water Conservation, a non-profit national community service program, and in so doing renew my commitment to sustainability for my city and for future generations.”

Wyland National Mayor’s Challenge for Water Conservation

Residents across the United States took part in the 2023 Wyland National Mayor’s Challenge for Water Conservation, April 1-30, by pledging to save billions of gallons of water over the next year. The annual campaign to promote water quality and water resource resiliency ended with mayors from 42 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., Northport, Fla., Gainesville, Fla, Tucson, Ariz., and two-time winer Houston, Tex. Overall, residents around the nation made more than 420,000pledges to change behaviors ranging from fixing home leaks to reducing harmful runoff into local rivers and streams
The challenge, presented by the Wyland Foundation, with support from the U.S EPA, National League of Cities, The Toro Company, and Zenni Optical, addresses the growing importance of educating consumers about the many ways they use water.
Clean water, a healthy ocean, and sustainable resources remain one of the keys to a brighter future for everyone in the United States and around the World. “With so much happening around the country, we were thrilled to see people voicing their support for the conservation and protection of our nation’s water systems and other natural resources,” said marine life artist Wyland, who founded the Wyland Foundation in 1993. “They know that environmental stewardship takes year-round effort.”

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About the Program

Whether it’s drought conditions in the West or the high costs of energy related to water use in the East, saving water has become one of the most talked about issues in the nation today. The National Mayor’s Challenge for Water Conservation was created to reward residents for positive conservation behavior, provide immediate feedback with real-time city by city results that can be measured against their neighboring cities, set goals to promote positive changes in consumer behavior and put a spotlight on public role models to encourage behavioral change.

The campaign is designed to:

Save costs for consumers
Save infrastructure and operating costs for cities
Promote drought resiliency
Protect watersheds and ecosystems

In the wake of the current pandemic, the campaign provides residents with more opportunities to get involved safely from home, including making water-friendly lifestyle changes on behalf of their city, undertaking home-based environmental projects that add up to cleaner, safer communities, and sharing tips and strategies with friends and neighbors. Moreover, residents also learn about resources in their area to take their commitment of conservation even further, from regional water and energy resource issues, to cost-saving tips at home. As part of the program, city staff can do as much or as little as their time allows. Either way, by simply being involved and committing to the Challenge, you’re leading your city’s residents to take the necessary steps to become better-informed and more active stewards of the community and our natural resources.

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Join the Mayors Challenge – Charities Below

Mayors Challenge - Charities

How It Works

Residents go to www.mywaterpledge.com
Take a 4-step conservation pledge on behalf of the city
See city’s current standings
Encourage their friends to take part

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:

5,000 – 29,999
30,000 – 99,999
100,000 – 299,999
300,000 – 599,999
600,000+

Participants in the winning cities are eligible to win hundreds of prizes. Last year, the challenge awarded more than $50,000 in prizes to nearly 300 residents in U.S. cities. Most importantly, participants see the enormous impact they can have on their community by taking simple actions to save water and energy. This year, the campaign will put a spot light on student participation, with students from thousands of schools across the country making water conservation commitments together with their teachers that directly support their city’s standings. As a special prize for students, one school from each winning city will receive 100 pairs of Zenni Remakes™ eyeglasses that help reduce damage to eyes from prolonged exposure to blue light. Each pair is made from the recycled plastics equal to three discarded single use plastic water bottles.

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Breakaway Challenges

The mayor’s challenge includes an array of community-based prizes that vary from year to year. In addition to our annual national prizes, cities may take part in localized, breakaway challenges sponsored by local partners.

In Orange County, Calif., Municipal Water District of OC presented a breakaway pocket park challenge in 2020 for its 28 member agencies.
In Dallas, the foundation and its partners provided a water-efficient landscape makeover for a 20,000 square foot interior courtyard for Nancy Cochran Elementary School of Dallas, TX. The project broke ground on with Dallas Mayor Mike Rawlings and EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy. The interior courtyard at the school was refashioned with Texas native trees, plants and grasses, decomposed granite pathways, low-cost water efficient irrigation and weather sensors, and student gardens for each grade. Texas Land Care of Dallas and the Toro Company contributed installation services and irrigation, respectively, with underwriting for the project from the Wyland Foundation, Toyota and a grant from Melody and David Howell. The school can expect to save over 250,000 gallons of water a year versus a conventional irrigated lawn area of the same size.

Local- And Home-Based Volunteer Projects To Do Year Round

See how our newest support program, MyVolunteer Water Project, continues the progress made by participating cities. This innovative application allows people to undertake home-community-, and workplace-based projects that support every city’s efforts for clean water and a healthy environment. Best of all, when your residents do projects throughout the year, your entire city earns headstart points in the annual Mayor’s Challenge for Water Conservation

Why Your City Needs To Get Involved

With no costs to cities or tax-payers, the Mayor’s Challenge offers a compelling, positive way to motivate residents to conserve water and energy resources.
Creates a legacy for you and your city by reaffirming your commitment to protecting natural resources and reducing your city’s “water footprint.”
Recognizes and rewards your residents who are committed to making a difference in your community. Residents can save money, help your city meet conservation goals, discover water-related issues affecting your region — and earn a chance to win water-saving prizes – including $3,000 in paid utilities.
Ties in with state and national water, energy, and GHG management plans, such as California’s AB32 or Texas’ SB 184.
Shares best communication practices to promote consumer water stewardship in your community.

Special Message from Wyland, Our Founder, About the Foundation.

Wyland is an American artist and conservationist best known for his more than 100 Whaling Walls, large outdoor murals featuring images of life-size whales and other sea life to call attention to the plight of whales throughout the world