Upper District Announces Student Winners of the 2021 “Water is Life” Art Contest by Upper San Gabriel Valley Municipal Water District Aug 26, 2021 Member Submitted News MONROVIA – The Board of Directors of the Upper San Gabriel Valley Municipal Water District (Upper District) announced the winners of the 2021 “Water is Life” student art contest. Every year students are encouraged to express what water means to them by incorporating water conservation and stewardship in their artwork. 20 students from schools within the San Gabriel Valley were awarded prizes and certificates recognizing their achievements. Members of the students’ families and teachers were invited to celebrate the creativity and talent demonstrated by the students. This is the 16th year that Upper District has hosted the “Water is Life” art contest introduced by Metropolitan Water District of Southern California (Metropolitan). This youth program helps raise awareness about the importance of water conservation and increases students’ appreciation for our water resources in an artistic and interactive way that engages the imagination. Schools within Upper District’s boundaries were invited to participate and submit a maximum of five entries per student category as follows: K-2nd, 3rd-5th, 6-8th, and 9th-12th grades. The program was conducted virtually this year garnering the participation from 12 schools with a total of 117 art submissions. All eligible art entries were displayed online for board directors, staff, and local water agencies for the opportunity to vote by virtual ballot for their top choices in each category. The votes determined the 1st through 5th place winners, which are displayed on Upper District’s website, www. upperdistrict.org. Upper District’s winning entries will go on to compete in the “Water is Life” student art contest hosted by Metropolitan and will be announced in the Fall. “We were overwhelmed by the students’ quality of work and creativity this year, and most importantly the students’ tenacity during this time of virtual learning. The art entries continue to demonstrate their understanding of the climate impacts on our water resources and on our local groundwater basin. These programs are all foundational steps in strengthening the water conservation habits of the youth. We will continue to support programs that work towards this goal,” said Board President Ed Chavez. The student winners of Upper District’s 2021 “Water is Life” art contest are as follows: K – 2nd Grades 1st Place: Thalia Lo, 1st grade, LA Art Academy 2nd Place: Tiffany Wang, 2nd grade, Longden Elementary School 3rd Place: Engedi Lam, 2nd grade, LA Art Academy 4th Place: Patrick Wong, 1st grade, LA Art Academy 5th Place: Connor Lee, 1st grade, LA Art Academy 3rd – 5th Grades 1st Place: Chloe Tam, 3rd grade, LA Art Academy 2nd Place: Dyana Wang, 3rd grade, LA Art Academy 3rd Place: Xinran Yang, 4th grade, McKinley Elementary School 4th Place: Wanyang Yolanda Zhou, 3rd grade, LA Art Academy 5th Place: Fiona Chau, 4th grade, LA Art Academy 6th – 8th Grades 1st Place: Justin Chen, 7th grade, LA Art Academy 2nd Place: Gabriella Enriquez, 7th grade, St. Luke Catholic School 3rd Place: Julia Yu, 7th grade, LA Art Academy 4th Place: Darren Ng, 6th grade, LA Art Academy 5th Place: Eva Limon, 8th grade, Santa Fe Elementary 9th – 12th Grades 1st Place: Iris Xu, 10th grade, LA Art Academy 2nd Place: Allison Lee, 10th grade, Temple City High School 3rd Place: Annie Shih, 10th grade, Temple City High School 4th Place: Selina Yu, 10th grade, Temple City High School 5th Place: Carolyn Wu, 9th grade, LA Art Academy Upper District’s mission is to provide a reliable, sustainable, diversified, and affordable portfolio of high-quality water supplies to the San Gabriel Valley; including water conservation, recycled water, storm water capture, storage, water transfers and imported water. Upper District services nearly one million people in its 144 square mile service territory. Upper District serves all or parts of the following cities: Arcadia, Azusa, Baldwin Park, Bradbury, City of Industry, Covina, El Monte, Glendora, Duarte, Irwindale, La Puente, Monrovia, Rosemead, San Gabriel, South El Monte, South Pasadena, Temple City, and West Covina. Governed by a five-member elected board of directors, Upper District is a member agency of the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California. Annually, more than 78 billion gallons of water is used in Upper District’s service area. For more information about Upper District, please visit our website www.upperdistrict.org or call 626-443-2297. ###