Winners of the eighth annual Santa Barbara County Water Awareness High School Video Contest were announced Thursday during special ceremonies at the Faulkner Gallery in Santa Barbara.

Six high schools competed for cash prizes and a chance to have their videos about water conservation shown on local TV stations. The winners are:

• First place: Cabrillo High School for the video “Water Boy,” winning $1,000 for the school.
• Second place: San Marcos High School for the video “Priceless” winning $750.
• Third place: The Cate School’s video “The Art of Water” tied with Dos Pueblos High School’s “Water Conservation,” with each school winning $500.

Santa Barbara and Carpinteria high schools each took home a $200 honorable mention prize. The first-place video from Cabrillo High School, created by student Brandon LeDuc, features WaterBoy, a young cowboy hero who finds creative ways to use water that he saves.

The videos were in public service announcement format and focused on water conservation. The winning videos from the contest will be used on local cable TV stations, including Channel 18 in Santa Barbara, Channel 20 Countywide, Channel 23 in Lompoc and Channel 23 in Santa Maria.

“This year’s videos were extremely creative, and we’re always thrilled with the results the students come up with,” said Robert Almy, Santa Barbara County’s water agency manager.

For more information on the Santa Barbara County Water Awareness High School Video Contest or available tools to reduce water use, visit www.sbwater.org or call 805.568.3541.

William Boyer is the communications director for the city of Santa Barbara’s Public Works Department.