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For Immediate Release
January 14, 2019

Annual Poster and Poetry Contests Challenge Students to Do Your Part Be Water Smart

Deadline for Water Conservation Week contests is February 28, 2019

HONOLULU – The Board of Water Supply (BWS) is seeking entries for its 2019 Water Conservation Week Poster and Poetry Contests. These annual contests are a cornerstone of the water agency’s conservation outreach programs to educate Oahu students about the island’s groundwater resources and the importance of protecting and preserving those resources for today and the future. The deadline for both contests is Thursday, February 28, 2019.

“Honolulu has the best water in the world and these annual contests help instill smart water conservation habits in our keiki and their families so that we can better manage one of our most precious resources,” said Honolulu Mayor Kirk Caldwell. “These are simple lifestyle changes that will help ensure a sustainable future for the City and County of Honolulu and inspire all of us to be a more resilient community.”

The 2019 contest theme, “Do Your Part, Be Water Smart,” invites Oahu students to creatively express why it’s important to use our precious drinking water resource wisely and to offer ideas of how to be more water-efficient in our daily lives.

“Every year, we are amazed by the thoughtfulness and the creativity shown by our youth in their artwork and in their writing,” BWS Board Chair Bryan Andaya said. “They show us what messages continue to resonate and they show us their new and unique takes on the contest theme. We look forward to seeing what they have in mind for this year.”

The 41st annual poster contest is open to Oahu students in grades K-6, while the 11th annual poetry contest is open to Oahu students in grades 7-12.

“Water is essential for all life, and we each have an important role in ensuring that this precious resource is available for future generations,” said BWS Manager and Chief Engineer Ernest Lau. “When we see students enter year after year, or hear from those who remember submitting a poster or poem when they were in school, it lets us know that our Keiki are well on their way to becoming water stewards themselves.”

Students entering the poster contest should submit one original piece of artwork that expresses the theme on a 12 x 18-inch sheet of paper. Any art medium can be used except 3-dimensional work, chalk, charcoal, and oil-based crayons.

Students entering the poetry contest should submit one original poem, typed on a standard 8½ x 11-inch letter size paper. The poem must also reflect the theme and be 150 words or less and no longer than 20 lines. Any form of poetry is acceptable.

Entries must be submitted with a completed entry form by February 28, 2019, to the BWS’s Communications Office at 630 South Beretania Street, Monday through Friday, 7:45 a.m. – 4:30 p.m., or to any Satellite City Hall on Oahu (except Hickam) during their normal business hours. The contest entry form, complete contest rules, and additional information are available online at www.boardofwatersupply.com/wcwcontests or can be obtained by contacting the BWS Communications Office at 748-5041 or by email at contactus@hbws.org.

Winning and honorable mention posters and poems will be showcased at different venues across the island in 2019, as well as featured in the 2020 Water Conservation Calendar, which will be made available to the public at the end of the year. In May, the winning students will be recognized at a special ceremony and presented with awards.

The BWS would like to thank the Hawaiian Financial Federal Credit Union, the Friends of Halawa Xeriscape Garden, Hard Rock Café, Sodexo, Times Supermarkets, Alexander & Baldwin, Aloha Pacific Federal Credit Union, Hawaii Energy, and Pasha Hawaii for their generous sponsorship of these contests.

The BWS launched the Water Conservation Week Poster Contest as part of the National Water Conservation Week campaign in April 1979. Due to the contest’s popularity, BWS then added a poetry contest in 2009 to expand the program’s reach to Oahu’s middle and high school students.

About the Board of Water Supply

The Board of Water Supply (BWS), a semi-autonomous agency of the City and County of Honolulu, manages Oahu’s municipal water resources and distribution system.  As the largest water utility in the State, the BWS serves approximately one million customers on Oahu.  The BWS embraces its mission of “Water for Life – Ka Wai Ola” – to provide a safe, dependable, and affordable water supply, now and into the future.  Uwē  ka lani, ola ka honua – “When the heavens weep, the earth lives.”  For more information, visit www.boardofwatersupply.com.

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Contact:

Kathleen Elliott-Pahinui
Information Officer
Honolulu Board of Water Supply
Phone: (808) 748-5041