Voting is underway for the 24th Annual WaterWise High School Video Contest’s People’s Choice Award, the Santa Barbara County Water Agency has announced.

The contest — whose theme this year is Does Your Lawn Belong? — challenged students throughout Santa Barbara County to produce fun, creative 30-second videos about the importance of water use efficiency to the community.

Nine videos were submitted by 18 students from two high schools, Dos Pueblos and Santa Ynez Valley Union. The public is invited to view all student videos submitted.

Anyone with a YouTube or Gmail account can vote by “liking” their favorite video(s) on YouTube here. All votes must be submitted before 5 p.m. Friday, April 21.

“The annual High School Video Contest is a great way to engage students and the public about water conservation,” said Matt Young, county Water Agency manager.

“These students put so much effort into making these creative, funny and educational videos, so don’t miss out,” he said. “We encourage everyone to support them 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 the Spanish award.

Prizes range up to $1,000 for the winning schools. Students on the winning teams also receive cash prizes by in-kind donations from sponsors, including Carollo Engineers, La Buena 105.1 FM, Geosyntec Consultants, Ewing Irrigation, and Dudek.

The contest is funded by the Network of Santa Barbara County Water Providers and the Santa Barbara County Water Agency, which sponsor programs that promote water conservation and awareness in the county.

Visit WaterWiseSB.org for ways maximize water efficiency, and to view all the competing videos.