It’s an honor for students to win a water conservation poster contest. It’s even better for those posters to become the graphics for a utility’s vans.

That’s what happened last year in Manatee County, Florida. First-place-winning entries in the annual Drop Savers Water Conservation Poster Contest, held with the AWWA Florida Section, were made into wrap graphics on four of the utility’s vans.

The contest has run for over three decades, and the AWWA section and Manatee County have been part of it for the past 10 years. “Winners’ artworks are displayed on our mobile lab vans, and they’re in the community every day, so they have high visibility and exposure to our residents,” says Tina Moutoux, communications coordinator.

Manatee County, on Florida’s gulf coast bordered by Tampa Bay, is home to 411,000 residents. The county’s three main wastewater treatment plants have a combined capacity of 33.5 mgd.

Ground rules

The poster contest kicks off in January every year as the students return after the holiday break. Judging is done in February, and the winners are announced in March to coincide with AWWA section’s statewide contest. County first-place winners are entered in the state competition.

The competition encourages students to design posters with a water conversation message using original artwork and themes. The judges consist of staff from the Manatee County utility. Judges evaluate how well the posters convey the water conservation message.

“We used to have the posters on display for staff to judge, but now we put the entries online and it has made it easier for staff to vote,” Moutoux says. All K-12 students from public and private schools and home schoolers are eligible. There are five age group divisions.

Spreading the word

The contest is promoted to students by word of mouth from the teachers and school districts. The county also promotes it to the school districts and in the classrooms to new educators. The county has various classroom presentations on water conservation. One includes a T-shirt coloring event during which the poster contest is mentioned.

The county also publicizes the contest through social media and at events including science fairs, farmers markets and a water tower competition. Another county event is a water barrel painting contest; completed barrels are displayed at libraries. “Fifty percent of water in Florida goes to watering lawns, so we continually promote Florida-friendly landscaping to conserve water,” Moutoux says.

Prizes for winners include certificates signed by the county’s water conservation specialist and medals on lanyards from the utility’s compliance superintendent. The winners also receive swag bags with water activity booklets, colored pencils and water-related items such as aerators. Teachers of winning students also receive swag bags.

The winning posters are laminated and displayed for public viewing. The top winners become van graphics. The posters are imprinted with a QR code and the county’s web address so that residents can learn more about the utility’s water conservation programs.

“It can be tricky fitting the artwork,” Moutoux says. “When drivers see the vans, we want them to get the winning message quickly and not cause any traffic issues.” Plans are to wrap more vehicles with winning entries in future contests.

One of the winning schools hosted an assembly to highlight its student winners. The county’s mascot, Wet Willie, presented plaques to the winners, whose parents were invited. Local media personalities unveiled the wrapped vans to the school. Winning students were blind-folded, and TV news captured their reactions when they saw the vans.

Winners of the state contest receive gift cards, and their winning entries are printed on a calendar that is distributed statewide.