DATE: March 17, 2025
TO: Mayor and Members of the City Council
VIA: Stefan Chatwin, City Manager
FROM: Kevin Ortiz, Management Analyst
DEPARTMENT: City Manager
SUBJECT: SUPPORT OF THE WYLAND FOUNDATION'S 2025 NATIONAL
MAYOR'S CHALLENGE FOR WATER CONSERVATION
RECOMMENDATION
It is recommended that the City Council adopt the attached resolution in support of the Wyland Foundation's 2025 National Mayor's Challenge for Water Conservation.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Founded in 1993, the Wyland Foundation is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization dedicated to promoting, protecting, and preserving the world’s ocean, waterways, and marine life. Through partnerships with public, non-profit, and private sector organizations that share its mission, which include the National League of Cities, The Toro Company, Zenni Optical, and the United States Environmental Protection Agency, the Wyland Foundation encourages environmental awareness through community events, education programs, and public art projects.
In 2012, the Wyland Foundation created the first annual National Mayor’s Water Conservation Challenge with the support of Mayors and participation of cities throughout the nation. The water conservation challenge is a non-profit national community service campaign that encourages Mayors, as local community leaders, to inspire residents in their cities/communities to make a series of simple pledges at mywaterpledge.com to use water more efficiently, reduce pollution, and save energy.
Due to the success of the national campaign and increased participation of cities and
communities to achieve the goal of water conservation, the Wyland Foundation’s National Mayor’s Challenge for Water Conservation continues to be held on an annual basis. To ensure Foster City’s participation in this water education and conservation initiative, it is recommended that the City Council adopt the attached resolution in support of the Wyland Foundation’s 2025 National Challenge for Water Conservation.
BACKGROUND/ANALYSIS
After a hiatus last year, the Wyland Foundation’s 2025 National Mayor’s Challenge for Water Conservation has returned for its 15th annual nationwide community service campaign, which takes place between April 1, 2025 and April 30, 2025. In 2023, the year that the campaign was most recently held, residents from cities in all 50 U.S. states pledged to reduce their annual consumption of freshwater by approximately 1.8 billion gallons, reduce waste sent to landfills by 49 million pounds, including the reduction of 4.1 million single-use plastic water bottles, and preventing more than one hundred thousand pounds of hazardous waste from entering watersheds.
Community benefits for participating in the water conservation campaign include the following:
Save costs for consumers
Save infrastructure and operating costs for cities
Protect watersheds and ecosystems
Promote drought resiliency
Reward residents and community members for positive resource conservation behavior
Provide immediate feedback with real-time city by city results that can be measured and compared to neighboring cities
The State of California has experienced severe drought conditions in recent years. In response, California Governor Gavin Newsom signed a Proclamation on July 8, 2021 declaring a State of Emergency in effect in 50 counties throughout the state, including San Mateo County. In tandem with the Proclamation, Governor Newsom issued State of California Executive Order N-10-21 establishing a voluntary statewide water conservation target of 15% from their 2020 levels. As cities and communities throughout the state continue to engage in water conservation efforts to meet the voluntary statewide targets, the City Council’s adoption of the attached resolution will affirm Foster City’s commitment to sustainability and water resource conservation.
The City of Foster City has participated in the National Mayor’s Challenge for Water Conservation since 2022. Most recently, at the March 20, 2023 City Council Regular Meeting, the City Council adopted a resolution expressing support for the 2023 National Mayor’s Challenge for Water Conservation. Following that meeting, City staff registered the City of Foster City to participate in the water conservation challenge.
Based on the number of residents making the pledge and participating in the challenge in 2023, the Wyland Foundation noted the following metrics for Foster City:
Water savings – 623,578 gallons of water
Electricity savings – 43,931 kilowatt hours
Consumer cost savings in the amount of $8,449
Reduction of 1,557 single-use plastic water bottles
Elimination of 44 pounds of hazardous waste from entering watersheds Reduction of 17,858 pounds of waste contributed to landfills Reduction of 2.5 million pounds of carbon dioxide emitted Should the City Council approve this year’s participation in the challenge, City staff will continue to coordinate community outreach efforts through multiple mediums/platforms used by the City, including, but not limited to: press release, newsletter, and social media. Participating in the challenge will provide the Foster City community with the opportunity to learn about water resources and infrastructure, conserve water, reduce pollution, and help alleviate the severe drought conditions experienced in the region and state.
California Environmental Quality Act
Not Applicable
FISCAL IMPACT
There is no fiscal impact associated with the adoption of the attached resolution.
CITY COUNCIL VISION, MISSION, AND VALUE/PRIORITY AREA
Sustainability
Innovation
Facilities and Infrastructure
ATTACHMENTS:
Attachment 1 - Resolution