Mayor Commends Residents for Water-Saving Pledges
RIALTO, CA – Rialto Mayor Deborah Robertson today announced that the City finished highest among all California communities in its category in Rialto’s first-ever participation in the annual Wyland National Mayor’s Challenge for Water Conservation.
The one-month challenge 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 at mywaterpledge.com to use water more efficiently, reduce pollution, and save energy.
Rialto placed fifth among all U.S. cities with populations of between 100,000 and 299,000. Within this category, Rialto residents made the most number of water-saving pledges among any California city during the month of April.
“I am extremely pleased with the results, especially since this was our first year to participate. We did better than other cities that had previously participated in this contest. This tells me our residents and businesses share a common commitment to use water efficiently and be a more sustainable-oriented community,” Mayor Robertson said.
In recent contests, residents from more than 4,100 cities in all 50 U.S. states pledged to reduce their annual consumption of freshwater by 1.9 billion gallons, reduce waste sent to landfills by 42 million pounds, and prevent more than 87,000 pounds of hazardous waste from entering our watersheds. The challenge goes beyond recent drought issues and looks at the ways our water use will affect the future of our communities — from how we grow food to reducing polluted runoff.
Mayor Robertson emphasized the importance of saving water all year long. Although California’s most recent drought has been declared over, the region’s groundwater basin, which supplies more than half the drinking water for the city, is still depleted and will need another three years of good rainfall to be fully restored.
“We need to act on our pledges. We need to take action to save water. Rialto Water Services, operated by Veolia, and West Valley Water District offer various rebates and tips to make it easy,” the Mayor said. “Every home, business and local organization can always do more to prevent water waste and to be more efficient with this precious resource.”
Mayor Robertson said the enthusiastic participation by Rialto’s local schools, plus a community outreach effort by Veolia, significantly contributed to the City’s strong showing in the water pledge contest.
“Rialto looks forward to next year’s Mayor’s Challenge because I know our community can reach the top,” Mayor Robertson said.
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 dedicated to promoting, protecting, and preserving the world’s ocean, waterways, and marine life. The foundation encourages environmental awareness through community events, education programs, and public art projects. www.wylandfoundation.org
Additional media contact
Denis Wolcott, 213-200-1563, [email protected]