Drop Savers Poster Contest

Hillsborough County Water Resources and the City of Tampa Water Department invite all K-12 students in Hillsborough County to participate in the Drop Savers Water Conservation Poster Contest.

This is a fun and educational way to inspire the next generation of water conservation ambassadors and to influence the important consumer and business decisions that impact our water resources.

The deadline for the 2024 competition was March 1, 2024. See School guidelines below for submission information.

2023 first place winners

Current and previous years' winners

Levels

There are three levels of competition:

• School-level - any Hillsborough County student can compete and the school will judge and choose a school winner per division
• County-level - A panel will judge school winners' posters and will choose first, second and third place county winners per division
• State-level - Florida Section of the American Water Works Association (FSAWWA) will judge all county winners’ posters and choose first, second and third place state winners per division

Student guidelines

• Each poster must portray a water conservation idea in a slogan and/or drawing form, and will be judged on the message, creativity, originality, and artistic ability. "Don't Pollute the Ocean" is a good message, but it is not really water conservation.
• Posters must be drawn on 8 ½” x 11” white paper and may be drawn vertically or horizontally
• Students may use crayons, paint, color pencils, or markers. No highlighters, photos, or computer graphics are permitted
• Students must work on posters individually, otherwise posters will be disqualified
• Only original artwork will be accepted (no trademarked or copyrighted materials)

School guidelines

Posters must be designated under one of the following judging categories:

• Division 1 (K and 1)
• Division 2 (Grades 2 and 3)
• Division 3 (Grades 4 and 5)
• Division 4 (Grades 6, 7, and 8)
• Division 5 (Grades 9, 10, 11, and 12)

Each school will judge its posters according to the Student Guidelines and choose one school winner for each of the five divisions to advance to the County-level.

On the back of the School Winners’ posters, write:

• The student's name and grade
• The school's name, address, and phone number

Submitting submission: take high-resolution, double-sided, color scans of the School Winners’ posters and email them to waterconservation@hcfl.gov or mail the originals or double-sided color copies by March 1, 2024 to:
Hillsborough County Water Conservation
2420 N. Falkenburg Rd.
Tampa, FL 33619

• Entries should be chosen and submitted by/through the school. Any student’s entry submitted directly by a parent/guardian will be judged against the school winner in the applicable division within that student’s school for consideration of its admission to the County-level competition. The school will be consulted to the extent possible for any re-consideration of a school winner. If there is no such school winner, the entry will be deemed the School Winner for the applicable division of the student’s school and admitted to the County-level competition.
• Submission of an entry serves as the student, parent/guardian, and school’s authorization to utilize the likeness, name, school, and/or artwork of participating students and their teachers in the contest and water conservation program materials, including for display throughout various public and independent schools and facilities of Hillsborough County, the City of Tampa, and partner organizations and on their webpages.
• Late entries will be accepted to the extent possible

County-level competition

A panel of water conservation specialists from Hillsborough County Water Resources and the City of Tampa Water Department will judge all School Winners’ posters according to the Student Guidelines and choose a first-, second-, and third-place County Winner for each of the five divisions. First-place County Winners will advance to the State-level competition, led and judged by the Florida Section of the American Water Works Association (FSAWWA).

County-level winning prizes

Prizes include, but are not limited to:

• Certificate of recognition or appreciation (All division 1st, 2nd, and 3rd prize winners)
• Display of student's artwork (All division 1st, 2nd, and 3rd prize winners)
• A Florida State Parks prize package (All division 1st place winners)
• A pizza party (All division 1st place winners)
• A water conservation retrofit kit (All division 1st place winners)
• Customized water bottles imprinted with their artwork to share with their classmates (All division 1st place winners)
• Advancement to the State-Level FSAWWA Drop Savers Poster Contest for additional prizes (All division 1st place winners)

County-level prizes are subject to change.

State-level competition

The Florida Section of the American Water Works Association (FSAWWA) will judge all County Winners’ posters according to the Student Guidelines and choose a first-, second-, and third-place State Winner for each of the five divisions.

• First-place State Winners from each division will receive a $100 Amazon gift card
• Second-place State Winners from each division will receive a $75 Amazon gift card
• Third-place State Winners from each division will receive a $50 Amazon gift card
• All state winners will have their artwork displayed on FSAWWA.org and receive a plaque, a certificate of participation, a calendar, a tote bag and a water conservation kit

State-level prizes are subject to change.

More information

For more information about the State-Level FSAWWA Drop Savers Poster Contest, visit their 2024 Drop Savers page.