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Boone Mayor Brantz Joins 6th National Mayor’s Challenge for Watauga Conservation in April

Mayor Rennie Brantz of Boone, NC , is joining mayors across the country in asking residents to make a long term commitment to manage water resources more wisely by taking part in the annual Wyland National Mayor’s Challenge for Water Conservation — and in return residents can win a new Toyota Prius, water saving fixtures, and hundreds of other prizes.

Mayor Rennie Brantz

The annual challenge, 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 at www.mywaterpledge.com to use water more efficiently, reduce pollution, and save energy.

“Our drought conditions this past fall are a stark reminder of how quickly our water resources can change. As of March 9, we are still listed as abnormally dry according to the North Carolina Drought Management Advisory Council.   It is vital that we as a community keep conservation at the center of our daily routines,” Mayor Brantz said. “The Town of Boone is committed to the conservation of our most precious resource, water. Our Every Drop Counts water conservation program continues to provide community education. In addition, Boone’s WaterSense toilet rebate program, a rain barrel program, and free conservation kits help our community conserve.”

Last year, residents from over 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.

“We encourage all of our residents to join their community members in making the pledge. Let’s make this a friendly competition among the other cities and show just how passionate we are about sustaining the beautiful area where we live” Mayor Brantz stated.

To participate, residents enter online at mywaterpledge.com, and then choose from a series of online pledges to conserve water on behalf of Boone. Many of the pledges coincide with the Town’s water conservation efforts that have been in place for many years! Cities compete in the following population categories: (5,000- 29,999 residents, 30,000-99,999 residents, 100,000-299,999 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.