McAllen Public Utility and Quinta Mazatlan won a state award for excellence in Educational TV Programming at the Texas Festival and Events Association conference. Both organizations worked with the premiere filmmaker Richard Moore to create the documentary titled “From Water to Wildlife-in the Lower Rio Grande Valley”.
The documentary focuses on the water conservation issue facing Texans statewide. “The Rio Grande Valley is one of the largest growth areas in the state of Texas,” said Mark Vega, General Manager of McAllen Public Utility. “All expect the Valley population to double in the next 30 years. We are at about a million right now in the four county area. They expect it to be two million by the year 2050-2060 and with that comes the need for water resources, because there is no growth without water.”
In a region with less than two feet of rain annually, the use of this resource impacts every homeowner, nature-lover, tourist and business. “The documentary encourages planning and planting our valley for future generations,” said Colleen Hook, Manager of Quinta Mazatlan. “There are many ways to conserve water, but one that is not often talked about is the use of native plants. Not only are natives beautiful and support our wildlife, but they also use less water.”
McAllen Public Utility is sponsoring the printing of 500 copies of the 30 minute award winning video to be distributed free of charge to valley schools and libraries.
PHOTO CAPTION:
The documentary “From Water to Wildlife” sponsored by McAllen Public Utility took home the award for excellence in Educational TV Programming category at the Texas Festival and Events annual conference.
(L to R): Mike Blum-Quinta Mazatlan Board Member, Colleen Hook-Quinta Mazatlan Manager, Richard Moore-Filmmaker, Ernest Williams-MPU Board of Trustees Chairman, Mark Vega-MPU General Manager.