Athens is one of five national winners in the 8th Annual Wyland National Mayor’s Challenge for Water Conservation. 17,918 Athenians pledged to cut water use by more than 73 million gallons.
Laurie Lofton is coordinator of the ACC Water Conservation Office. She says those cities and citizens who made pledges are now in the running for prizes.
“Resident from the winning cities, Athens included, are now in the drawing for thousands of dollars in water saving and prizes, which includes $3,000 toward somebody’s annual home utility bill,” Lofton said. “They’ll also be giving out green cleaning kits, home irrigation equipment and a water fixture makeover for a local school.”
The annual month-long public awareness campaign had Mayors from 35 states vying for title of most “water wise.” with nearly 18,000 Athenians making pledges, the response from the Classic City means Mayor Kelly Girtz won a side bet with his counterpart from Gainesville, Florida, Mayor Lauren Poe.
“Athens-Clarke County collected more pledges than Gainesville, Florida to win a friendly wager between the two cities. The Gainesville mayor, Lauren Poe, will have to wear red and black while calling the dogs during at an upcoming meeting. And it is promised that we would have video that we can share on social media.”
Pledges included everything from fixing leaks, to reducing runoff into local rivers and streams.
Athens residents also pledged to reduce their use of single-use plastic water bottles, eliminate hazardous waste from entering area watersheds and to reduce the amount of trash sent to area landfills.