The Galveston Bay Foundation on Monday unveiled the cities of Houston, Galveston and Pearland won the first-, second- and third-place awards of the 2018 Houston Cities H2O Challenge. According to a press release, residents and businesses from over 30 Houston-area cities took an online pledge between June 4 and Sept. 28 to conserve water. Each pledge earned points for the municipality where the pledging resident or business resided. The challenge was part of the foundation's efforts to raise awareness about the need to conserve water for Galveston Bay.

“The health of Galveston Bay depends on adequate amounts of fresh water from our rivers mixing with saltwater from the Gulf of Mexico,” said Paula Paciorek, Galveston Bay Foundation water resources manager, in the release. “With rapid population growth in our region and the increased demand on water from our rivers, it is imperative that we strengthen water conservation practices. This will ensure that our rivers don’t run dry and that we meet the needs of Galveston Bay and the people who live and work here.”

The challenge is a product of the Texas Living Waters Project and funded by the Houston Endowment. The city of Pearland, the Woodlands Joint Powers Agency and the Gulf Coast Water Authority partnered with the foundation in this program, according to the release. The foundation plans to launch the challenge again in June 2019.