Take The Pledge April is Water Conservation Month

The annual Wyland Mayor’s Challenge for Water Conservation during the month of April is a non-profit national community service campaign to see which leaders can best inspire their residents to make an easy-to-do online pledge to use water more efficiently, reduce pollution and save energy.

Palm Coast Mayor Milissa Holland 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 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.

Please go online at www.mywaterpledge.com between now and April 30 to take the water challenge pledge!

“Environmental resource stewardship has been a high priority from even the earliest beginnings of Palm Coast,” said Mayor Holland. “Managing our water resources carefully is especially important for us here in Florida because our fresh water supply is limited. This year it’s more important than ever as we experience drought conditions.”

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 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.

“I am asking everyone to go online this month and take the National Mayor’s Challenge for Water Conservation,” she said. “Conserving water is the right thing to do to ensure we continue to enjoy a high quality of life into the future. Let’s aim to be No. 1 in the nation this year!”
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.

To participate, residents enter online at www.mywaterpledge.com.

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). The City of Palm Coast has approximately 82,000 residents.

Water Conservation Tips

  • Bathing. Taking a bath requires up to 70 gallons of water. A five-minute shower uses only 10 to 25 gallons. Time your shower to keep it under 5 minutes. You’ll save up to 1,000 gallons per month and that totals to $8.50 monthly. By installing a low flow showerhead - a family of four can save 27,000 gallons of water per year. That’s a savings of $223!
  • Washing dishes. When washing dishes by hand, use a spray device instead of running the water to rinse. This can save you 6,000 gallons per year. Even better, run the dishwasher instead. It uses less hot water and could save you $40 a year.
  • Check for leaks. At 1 drip per second, a faucet can leak 3,000 gallons per year. The amount of water leaked from U.S. homes could exceed more than 1 trillion gallons per year.
  • Check your toilets. A running toilet can waste up to 200 gallons of water per day. Also, installing a low-flow toilet can save you as much as 9,855 gallons of water per year; that’s $81.30.
  • Reduce energy consumption. It takes water to make energy! By reducing energy use by just 10 percent, you could save 600 gallons of a water a year and $150 in energy bills!
  • Turn it off. Turn off the water while you brush your teeth, wash your face, shave, wash dishes or clean house.
  • Washing clothes. Select the minimum amount of water required per load. Newer clothes washers use an average of 18 gallons of water per load. Older machines can use as much as 40 gallons per load.
  • Landscaping. Select native-Florida trees and shrubs that need less watering when landscaping.
  • Pools. Covering your spa or pool can prevent it from losing water to evaporation. You can save as much as 12,000 gallons of water per year, that’s $99!
  • Food preparation. When rinsing vegetables, use a filled pan instead of letting the water run. By doing this you can save 2,400 gallons of water per year. That’s $19.80!
  • Water a plant. Never put water down the drain when there may be another use for it, such as watering a plant or cleaning.
  • Limit flushes. Don't use the toilet as an ashtray or wastebasket. Every time you flush a cigarette butt, facial tissue or other small bit of trash, five to seven gallons of water is wasted.
  • Car washing. If you use a bucket to wash your car, you can save 150 gallons of water every time you don’t use the hose.

All year long, but especially during Water Conservation Month in April, the City provides water conservation information through its Facebook page at www.facebook.com/discoverpalmcoast.

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