Staff Report

The Santa Barbara County Water Agency is pleased to announce the opening of applications for the 22^nd Annual WaterWise High School Video Contest.

Every year, students compete to create entertaining and informational 30-second videos that convey the importance of water use efficiency in Santa Barbara County. The contest theme is “Do it Yourself the Water Wise Way.” The theme was inspired by the unusual circumstances of this year, as people are staying home and taking on new projects and students are faced with the added challenge of learning remotely.

The contest meets several California State Department of Education Content Standards, including implementing world languages.

As County Water Agency Manager Matt Young states, “We are excited to continue this long-standing program and to see the creative videos that our local high school students submit.”

Up to six videos, three English and three Spanish, may be submitted per school. The winning videos will receive prizes and have their videos aired on local TV and in movie theatres.

While the County Water Agency and water providers arrange for monetary prizes to the winning schools, local private sector sponsors provide awards for the students:

First Place (English): $500 provided by Carollo Engineers.
First Place (Spanish): $500 provided by Univision.
Second Place: $250 provided by Geosyntec.
Third Place: $150 provided by Ewing Irrigation.

Two Honorable Mentions for North and South County submissions:

North County: Car wash vouchers provided by Splash N’ Dash Car Wash.
South County: Film festival tickets provided by the Santa Barbara International Film Festival.

A People’s Choice Award (voted by the public on the WaterWiseSB YouTube Channel) will carry a $500 prize, provided by Flume Water.

In order to be eligible to win prizes, student participants must submit their videos and completed application packet online by 11:59 p.m. Friday, March 5, 2021. The student winners will be publicly announced in May 2021.

The County Water Agency and local water providers thank our community sponsors for their generous support and look forward to seeing the creative videos that students submit for the contest!

To learn more and to apply for the contest, visit WaterWiseSB.org/HSVC.