Summary
The 40 Gallon Challenge (40gallonchallenge.org) is a flexible, easy-to-use water conservation education tool. To date, over 4,500 people have read the indoor and outdoor water conservation practices and pledged to save approximately 850,000 gallons of water per day (306 million gallons per year).
Situation
As populations increase throughout the Southern Region, forest and farm give way to suburb and mall. The growing population and subsequent water demands have coincided with several high-impact regional droughts, increasing the pressure on limited water supplies. Water conservation throughout the region is a necessity. It is both a challenge and a priority to reach populations in rural and urban areas with water conservation messages. The 40 Gallon Challenge is an educational program designed to teach water conservation. Essentially a self-audit checklist, the 40 Gallon Challenge provides an estimate of water savings resulting from the implementation of water-conservation practices. The participant selects practices that fit their lifestyle, and then pledges to implement them with the goal of saving 40 gallons a day. In the process of selecting practices, participants learn how to conserve water and how much water is used in routine activities. Already a successful county program in Georgia, it was time to take The 40 Gallon Challenge statewide and nationwide.
Response
A team of Extension specialists and agents from six states requested and received grant funding for development of the 40 Gallon Challenge from the Southern Region Water Program.
With the help of the CAES Office of Communications and Technology Services, www.40GallonChallenge.org was created, as well as promotional bookmarkers, stickers and posters were designed and printed.
The site logs participant pledges. It sends an email to the participant reminding him/her of the pledge they have taken and the practices they chose. The web site can be easily shared via Facebook or email. It provides nationwide, statewide and countywide totals of pledges taken and gallons saved. Top ranked states and counties are displayed. The most pledged activities and actions saving the most water are displayed on the site and updated every 20 minutes. All promotional material created to support the pledge can be downloaded from the site. Paper pledge card data can be easily entered into the online 40 Gallon Challenge.
Agents throughout Georgia utilized the 40 Gallon Challenge throughout the state. The program is very flexible. It is used in traditional Extension venues, in schools by teachers, with 4-H programs, by Master Gardener volunteers, and in other adult education programs conducted by water authorities and other groups.
Seven states eventually joined in the effort to promote the Challenge. Alabama, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, and Texas participated the first year and Arkansas Cooperative Extension joined the second year. Each state created Extension programs and urged participants to complete an online pledge.
A follow-up survey was sent via email to approximately 2,600 pledge participants to determine the pledge on participant behavior.
Impact
Nation-wide, 4,561 people have taken the Challenge and pledged to save 845,353 gallons of water per day.
In Georgia, 1,403 people have taken the Challenge and pledged to save 273,522 gallons of water per day.
The five activities pledged most often were: turning off the water while brushing teeth, turning off the water while rinsing dishes, running the dishwasher only when full, not using the toilet as a wastebasket, and washing only full loads of laundry.
The practices pledged which saved the most water were: reducing irrigation station runtimes, sweeping driveways and sidewalks, and fixing leaky toilet.
Seventeen percent of those surveyed responded (N=422).
Verbal feedback on the pledge was overwhelmingly positive:
“It was an easy eye-opening experience.”
“I think this is a great program. Anyone who uses water should be able to do at least one thing on the list.”
“Great idea! I shared what I learned with others who appreciated the tips as well.”
“The fixes I made really improved my water bill! Thanks for the information on how to do it.”
“I installed three 55 gallon rain barrels at my house and inspired 2 friends to start one each. My sister just recently jumped on the rain barrel - bandwagon and has plans to install two next year.”
86% reported following through with at least 75% of their pledge. Only 0.5% did not follow through with their pledge at all.
Half (50.4%) of the respondents reported saving $5 to $90 on their water bill and the other half (49.5 %) either did not save money on their water bill or did not know if they saved money.
Survey respondents reported saving a total of $3,427 (N= 422) on their water bills. Extrapolating these savings to all The 40 Gallon Challenge participants suggests a total saving of $37,039 per month or $444,470 per year resulting from the program.
The 40 Gallon Challenge web site has been featured on many web sites including Earth Gauge, Mother Earth News, and Georgia Waterwise Council.
The promotional materials for the program received national recognition from the Association of Natural Resource Extension Professionals.
State Issue
Conservation & Management of Natural Resources
Details
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Year:
2012
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Geographic Scope:
Multi-State/Regional
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County:
Spalding
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Program Areas:
- 4-H Youth
- Agriculture & Natural Resources
- Family and Consumer Sciences
