Mayor O’Dekirk is joining mayors across the country who are asking residents to make a long-term commitment to reduce pollution and manage water resources more wisely. In return, residents can win over $50,000 in eco-friendly prizes, including $3,000 toward their home utility payments, water saving fixtures, and hundreds of other prizes. Plus, this year students from thousands of schools across the country can make water conservation commitments that directly support their city’s standings.

     The annual non-profit national community service campaign encourages leaders to inspire their residents, between April 1-30, to commit to making small changes at mywaterpledge.com to use water more efficiently, reduce pollution, and save energy.

The program was started twelve years ago by a handful of mayors who were looking for alternative ways to engage their residents more deeply about the coming water challenges in the United States.

“Water conservation is important to our city,” said Allison Swisher, Director of Public Utilities. “Last year a new Water Conservation Committee was formed to help us develop ways to encourage residents to be mindful of their water usage.”

    Last year, residents from over 2,000 cities in all 50 U.S. states pledged to reduce their annual consumption of freshwater by over 1 billion gallons, reduce waste sent to landfills by 35 million pounds, and prevent nearly one hundred thousand pounds of hazardous waste from entering our watersheds. The Challenge goes beyond short term issues and looks at the ways our water use will affect the future of our communities — from how we manage our coasts, lakes, and rivers to reducing polluted runoff.

“Water conservation is part of our community ethic, that’s why the annual Wyland National Mayor’s Challenge for Water Conservation is a great way for each of you to commit to environmentally positive actions,” stated Mayor O’Dekirk. “Please take the free pledge at MyWaterPledge.com and let’s put Joliet on the map for creating sustainable practices for generations to come.”

To participate, residents go to mywaterpledge.com, and then make a series of online pledges to conserve water on behalf of Joliet. Cities compete in five population categories; Joliet is in the 100,000-299,999 residents’ population category.

Cities with the highest percentage of residents who take the challenge in their population category have a chance to win $3,000 toward their home utility bills, and hundreds more eco-friendly prizes including Toro Irrigation Smart Controllers, gift cards, and more. In addition, 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.

In addition to competing against other cities across the country, the members of the Grand Prairie Water Commission have agreed to a friendly wager amongst themselves to see which community can rank the best in this challenge. In addition to Joliet, Grand Prairie Water Commission member communities include Channahon, Crest Hill, Minooka, Romeoville, and Shorewood.

Participating residents are also encouraged to use a custom created digital tool called My Volunteer Water Project, in support of the program, that gives residents a unique way to do hands-on home, community, and workplace projects year-round in support of their city’s sustainability efforts. The more projects’ residents do throughout the year, the better chance a city wins the mayor’s challenge in April.

The National Mayor’s Challenge for Water Conservation is presented by the Wyland Foundation, with support from the U.S. EPA WaterSense, The Toro Company, Zenni Optical, and National League of Cities.