Take the ‘water pledge’ to boost your ‘city’

UPDATE, May 4

The “Mayor’s Challenge” is over, and Bremerton Mayor Patty Lent says she is pleased that Bremerton placed first in Washington state and third out of more than 100 medium-sized cities in the West.

Read the news release issued by the mayor.
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UPDATE, April 27

Kitsap Sun reporter Steve Gardner wrote about the “Mayor’s Challenge” for yesterday’s print edition, helping to move Bremerton from the fourth spot to the third, where the city stands today. See “Bremerton faring well in conservation pledge contest.”

Bremerton Mayor Patty Lent, who has encouraged people to take the pledge at nearly every opportunity, was quoted as saying:

“We have a little hill to climb yet if we’re No. 4. I just want that pride within our city for us to take and beat out someone just to say we can do it.”

Since pledges are recorded by Zip Code, residents are not required to live inside the city limits to support their surrounding community, incorporated or not.
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UPDATE, April 12, 2012

Bremerton didn’t last long in the top spot of the “Mayor’s Challenge.” As of this morning, the city had been pushed down to number 2 in its category, replaced by Aliso Viejo, Calif.

Maybe it’s not so easy to stay on top. I’m sure Kathleen Cahall is already looking for ways to rally the populace in and around Bremerton. Maybe if everyone sent the link to friends in Bremerton? http://www.mywaterpledge.com

To help people understand the contest, feel free to use the buttons at the bottom of the main blog section to Tweet the entry, post it on Facebook or send the link by e-mail with a personal message attached. (E-mail is right before the “response” section.) Good luck again to those in Bremerton; please pardon the hometown bias.
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UPDATE, April 11, 2012

Bremerton, Wash., has taken over the top spot in the “National Mayor’s Challenge for Water Conservation,” among western communities with populations from 30,000 to 100,000 in population.

Sometime between yesterday morning — when I posted this blog entry — and this morning, Bremerton moved from second to first place. I suppose the challenge now is to hold onto that position. Everyone is eligible to join this challenge, which includes prizes for individuals.
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In what is being called the “National Mayor’s Challenge for Water Conservation,” Bremerton currently ranks second behind Newport Beach, Calif., in gathering water pledges among western communities with populations from 30,000 to 100,000 in population.

“It would be wonderful for Bremerton to capture the #1 spot,” Kathleen Cahall, Bremerton’s water resources manager, wrote to me yesterday in an e-mail.

Kathleen has done her best to stir up interest in the event, which also includes potential prizes for participants. Displays have been set up at various city locations; the contest has been mentioned on BKAT community access TV; e-mails have been sent to those on the city’s mailing list; a link has been placed on the city’s website; the event has been mentioned at a city council meeting; and the mayor and city employees have been handing out info cards at events.

To take the pledge, go to www.mywaterpledge.com before April 30.

I told Kathleen I would pass on the word about this contest, sponsored by the Wyland Foundation. If you take the pledge, you may gain some attention for your community and also become personally eligible for prizes, including a Toyota Prius.

While it’s called the “Mayor’s Challenge” and appears to be focused on cities, the contest actually is judged by postal Zip Code, according to Patti Romo of the Wyland Foundation. The goal is to obtain the greatest percentage of pledges among the population represented by a city’s Zip Code.

So if your Zip Code is 98310, 98311, 98312, 98314 or 98337, you are eligible to support Bremerton’s quest to make it to the top, even if you don’t live within the city. Bremerton city officials are strong supporters of water conservation and would love to get that kind of recognition. See the city’s website about conservation.

If you live somewhere else, you’ll get credit for supporting the “city” associated with the Zip Code where you reside — including Silverdale, Seabeck, Hansville, Tahuya and many more unincorporated communities listed by the Postal Service.

In signing the pledge, you’ll be asked if you are willing to take certain actions, such as wash only full loads of laundry. You don’t need to answer “yes” to all the questions to successfully meet the challenge.

It is kind of fun and seems like a good way to get all of us thinking about the choices we make. Again, the website for the challenge is www.mywaterpledge.com.

The Wyland Foundation, founded by environmental artist Robert Wyland, supports educational efforts that help people appreciate and support healthy oceans and waterways.

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