Bremerton Mayor Patty Lent said that the city did “miraculously well” in conserving water throughout the past month.

The City of Bremerton placed first in Washington State and third out of more than 100 other medium-sized western cities in the National Mayor’s Conservation Challenge. The contest ran through the month of April with the goal to improve the environment using an online outreach campaign to engage citizens about their water conservation efforts.

“I applaud the Bremerton residents who took the online pledge to reduce water and energy use at home,” Lent said. “This challenge was a fun opportunity to learn about water wise habits while engaging in a friendly competition with other cities. We appreciate that residents responded so overwhelmingly to make this contest a success for Bremerton.”

Lent, city staff, and other community groups worked diligently encouraging residents to take the online pledge at www.mywaterpledge.com and show their commitment to conserving water, saving energy and reducing pollution.

“The Conservation Challenge highlighted the impact of each person’s water saving efforts,” said Water Resources Manager Kathleen Cahall. “Bremerton’s prize for participating in this contest is increased awareness about the importance of our water resources.”

For the challenge, cities were divided into four regions and categorized by population. Participants in cities placing first in their category were eligible to win prizes. Most importantly, Lent and Cahall noted, is the fact that all participants will see results based on simple actions to save water and energy.

“Water consumption is something we all take for granted,” Lent said. “No one seems to think we need to worry about water, but we really need to check our consumption.”

And the mayor’s call to participate in the contest offered a fun way to do just that.

“Citizens really reacted to the challenge and that made it very fun,” Lent said. “I thought it was pretty impressive that everyone rallied the way they did.”