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City of Gallup, residents honored for National Water Challenge

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Toyota, Wyland Foundation to host special Ceremony Aug. 7

The city of Gallup will be honored in a special ceremony at 11:30 am Aug. 7, in front of the McKinley County Courthouse, 207 West Hill Ave., as one of five winning cities in the annual Wyland National Mayor’s Challenge for Water Conservation.

The event will recognize the efforts of Gallup residents who pledged in April to reduce water use by 32 million gallons over the next year and make lifestyle changes to reduce harmful runoff into local waterways.

Presented each April by the Wyland Foundation and Toyota, with support from the U.S EPA, National League of Cities, The Toro Company, Earth Friendly Products – maker of ECOS, and Conserva Irrigation, the challenge addresses the growing importance of educating consumers about the many ways they use water.

In addition to now being entered into a drawing for thousands of dollars in water-saving or eco-friendly prizes, including $5,000 toward their annual home utility bill, residents who made conservation pledges earned the right to nominate deserving charities in their community to receive the National Grand Prize, a 2018 Toyota RAV4 XL Hybrid.

Mayor Jackie McKinney and Toyota Director of Sustainability Kevin Butt will be on hand to award the vehicle to Battered Families Inc. of Gallup, which was among 20,000 charities nominated nationwide.

Charities with the most nominations from each winning city were judged by a Wyland Foundation panel on the basis of how they would use a fuel-efficient vehicle for the ongoing benefit of the community.

“As part of our ongoing effort to expand environmental connections, we encourage people from all walks of life to make water saving pledges,” said Steve Creech, Executive Director, Wyland Foundation. “This year we wanted to give the communities who were most vested in conservation a way to pay their efforts forward, but in an eco-friendly way that would benefit their community for years to come.”

In addition to reducing water waste, challenge participants in 50 states pledged to reduce the use of 8 million single-use plastic water bottles and eliminate 177,000 pounds of hazardous waste from entering watersheds. By altering daily lifestyle choices, pledges also resulted in potentially 79.9 million fewer pounds in landfills. Potential savings of 22.2 million gallons of oil, 12.6 billion pounds of carbon dioxide, 191.9 million kilowatt hours of electricity, and $38.4 million in consumer cost savings rounded out the final pledge results.

FREE Event to Public

Time: 11: 30 AM, Tues., Aug. 7

Place: 207 West Hill Ave., Gallup, N.M.

Food and refreshments will be provided

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