Turning in tampa

Drop Savers Poster Contest

phone of one of the 2023 DSPC local winners

Tulasi Akula, one of our 1st place local winners for 2023, being interviewed by various news media outlets on her winning poster and how to save water.

The Tampa Water Department and Hillsborough County Water Resources invites all K-12 students in Hillsborough County to participate in our annual Drop Savers Water Conservation Poster Contest. In this contest, students must create a poster that portrays a water conservation idea in a slogan and/or drawing form. 

Posters are assigned under one of the following judging categories:

  • Division 1: K - Grade 1
  • Division 2: Grades 2 - 3
  • Division 3: Grades 4 - 5
  • Division 4: Grades 6 - 8
  • Division 5: Grades 9 - 12

Congratulations to Our 2023 Drop Savers Poster Contest Winners!

*The Florida Section of the American Water Works Association (FSAWWA) has announced the 2023 State Winners! Winning posters of the statewide competition can be found at the FSAWWA website.

Student Guidelines

  1. 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. For example, "Don't Pollute the Ocean" is a good message, but it is not really water conservation.
  2. Poster must be drawn on 8.5" x 11" white paper and may be drawn vertically or horizontally.
  3. Students may use crayons, paint, color pencils, or markers. No highlighters, photos, or computer graphics are permitted.
  4. Students must work on posters individually, otherwise posters will be disqualified.
  5. Only original artwork will be accepted (no trademarked or copyrighted materials). 

Teacher and School Guidelines

  1. Schools judge all entries according to the Student Guidelines and choose one School Winner for each division to be advanced to the local-level judging.
  2. On the back of each school winner's poster, write accurately and legibly:
    • The student's name and grade
    • The school's name, address, and phone number
    • The teacher's name, email address, and class name
  3. Take high-resolution, double-sided color scans of the school winners' posters and e-mail them to WaterConservation@HCFLGov.net or mail the originals or double-sided color copies to Hillsborough County Water Conservation at 2420 N Falkenburg Rd, Tampa, FL 33619.

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 reconsideration 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.

*Note: 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 contest and water conservation promotional materials.

Prizes

First Place County Winners from each division will advance to the state-level competition sponsored and judged by the Florida Section of the American Water Works Association (FSAWWA), and will also receive:

  • A Florida State Parks prize package
  • A pizza party for their class
  • Posters of their artwork 
  • A water conservation kit 
  • A display of their artwork on both the City of Tampa and Hillsborough County Drop Savers webpages, facilities, and promotional materials
  • Invitation for recognition at a School Board Meeting
  • Potential media coverage
  • A certification of appreciation

Second and Third Place County Winners from each division will receive:

  • A display of their artwork on both the City of Tampa and Hillsborough County Drop Savers webpages, facilities, other promotional materials
  • Invitation for recognition at a School Board Meeting
  • Potential media coverage
  • A certification of appreciation

To request additional information or if you have any questions, please e-mail SaveWater@tampa.gov or call (813) 274-8121, option #5.