DATE: March 16, 2026
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 2026 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 2026 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 2026 National Challenge for Water Conservation.
BACKGROUND/ANALYSIS
The Wyland Foundation’s 2026 National Mayor’s Challenge for Water Conservation has returned for its 16th annual nationwide community service campaign, which takes place between April 1, 2026 and April 30, 2026. Last year, residents from cities in all 50 U.S. states pledged to reduce their annual consumption of freshwater by approximately 1 billion gallons, reduce waste sent to landfills by 35 million pounds, including the reduction of 3 million single-use plastic water bottles, and preventing 81 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 addition, Governor Newsom took the following actions related to water conservation:
Issued State of California Executive Order N-10-21: Established a voluntary statewide water conservation target of 15% from their 2020 levels. Issued State of California Executive Order N-7-22: Reinforced the 15% voluntary reduction targets from 2021 and required drought contingency actions by water suppliers.
Issued State of California Executive Order N-5-23: Ended the statewide reduction target as drought conditions improved.
oEnded the 15–20% water-use reduction target tied to the earlier drought orders.
oEnded the requirement that urban suppliers implement Stage 2 water shortage contingency plans statewide.
oShifted the state back to a lower alert level and voluntary conservation messaging.
Although the statewide reduction targets ended, there has been an ongoing policy shift for long-term water use standards. The State has been implementing the “Making Conservation a California Way of Life” framework by setting per-capita water-use standards for urban suppliers rather than temporary drought targets. These regulations are intended to make conservation structural and permanent, not just drought-driven.
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 17, 2025 City Council Regular Meeting, the City Council adopted a resolution expressing support for the 2025 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 2025 (107 pledges in total were received throughout the campaign), the Wyland Foundation noted the following metrics for Foster City:
Water savings – 437,686 gallons of water
Electricity savings – 26,647 kilowatt hours
Consumer cost savings in the amount of $5,426
Reduction of 1,038 single-use plastic water bottles
Elimination of 24 pounds of hazardous waste from entering watersheds Reduction of 10,505 pounds of waste contributed to landfills Reduction of 1.68 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
Innovation
Sustainability
ATTACHMENTS:
Attachment 1 – Resolution