As people start turning off their outdoor taps and irrigation systems get blown out, the Okanagan Basin Water Board’s Okanagan WaterWise program is winding up its Make Water Work campaign for another year. But not before announcing this year’s Grand Prize winner of a $6,000 WaterWise yard upgrade – Rob Abbott and Felicia Taylor of Osoyoos.

“You’re kidding! I was just thinking about how we were going to redo our yard. That’s incredible,” said Abbott when called with the news. “I’ve been wanting to change our yard so that it is closer to the natural environment and using less water, so this is perfect.”

Rob Abbott was among about 520 Okanagan residents who took the challenge and pledged to Make Water Work more effectively and efficiently in their yards this summer.

For his pledge and water conservation efforts, Abbott will now be visited by KelownaGardens.com who will provide $4,000 in service with a landscape audit, plus irrigation and/or landscape improvements. Another $2,000 in materials is being provided through Bylands Nursery, ProSource Irrigation and Eco Turf Farms. All prizing has been kindly donated once again this year.

“I see water scarcity as a huge issue in the valley and my wife and I want to do what we can,” said Abbott. For his part, Abbott pledged this summer to ‘Water Plants. Not Pavement.’ And to ‘Leave grass clippings as mulch,’ helping feed his lawn, retain moisture and reduce evaporation.