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The Santa Barbara County Water Agency is pleased to announce that voting is underway for the 26th Annual WaterWise High School Video Contest’s “People’s Choice Award.” The contest challenged students throughout Santa Barbara County to produce fun, creative 30-second videos on the importance of water-use efficiency to our community.
This year’s theme is “Grow Beyond the Grass: Replace your Lawn to Save Water, Support Nature, and Keep Yards Cool”
Eleven videos were submitted this year by 26 students from six high schools across the county, including Dos Pueblos, San Marcos, Pioneer Valley, Valley Christian Academy, and Lompoc High Schools. The public is invited to view and vote on all student video submissions.
Anyone with a YouTube or Gmail account can vote by “Liking” their favorite video(s) on YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/@WaterWiseSB/playlists. All votes must be submitted before 11:59 p.m. on the 24th of April, 2026.
County Water Conservation Manager Rachel Major Ochoa said, “We look forward to this fun, educational contest every year. It’s an exciting way to engage students and the community about water conservation, and the student participants put tremendous effort into creating videos that are imaginative, humorous, and impactful. Don’t miss out! We encourage everyone to partake in the fun by watching and voting.”
In addition to the “People’s Choice Award,” judges from local water providers award the First, Second, and Third Place, as well as a Spanish-category award. Prizes range up to $1,000 for the winning schools. Students on the winning teams also receive cash prizes through in-kind donations from generous sponsors, including Carollo Engineers, La Buena 105.1 FM, Geosyntec Consultants, Enviroscaping, and Dudek. The contest is funded by a network of Santa Barbara County Water Providers and the Santa Barbara County Water Agency. Together, these agencies sponsor programs that promote water conservation and awareness in the county.
Visit WaterWiseSB.org to discover more ways to maximize your water efficiency, to view all the competing videos, and vote for your favorites!
