The County of San Luis Obispo Releases New Campaign to Encourage Water Conservation, as Drought State of Emergency Continues to Expand
Author: Public Works
Date: 9/22/2021 2:14 PM
The County of San Luis Obispo Department of Public Works (County) created the new campaign featuring unique, upbeat messages to encourage and promote water conservation.
The campaign forgoes the standard conservation metrics and facts; relying instead on a variety of creative reminders and ideas to save water. The County drew inspiration from Denver Water’s highly acclaimed “Use Only What You Need” campaign that ran until 2016.
”Unfortunately, severe drought isn’t a distant memory here in the County. Most everyone remembers previous droughts, we know what we need to do, and we know it’s difficult,” said Kate Ballantyne, Deputy Director of Public Works. “We need everyone to be proactive in conserving water, and not rely on the hope that the coming rainy season will end the drought.”
Messaging will begin with the installation of new roadside signs across the County’s six water service areas this week and will be shared throughout the County with partner agencies. New water conservation messages will post to the County’s social media channels every “Water Wednesday”.
“We felt the often-repeated water conservation facts and warnings were being tuned-out. We wanted messages that were unique, encouraging, and creative. There are lots of ways for community members to get innovative about saving water, and we hope the creative spirit of the campaign will be a good reminder of that,” said Laura Holder, Public Works Utilities Program Manager. “Although this is becoming an increasingly serious scenario, we want to offer positive encouragement in our request to conserve water.”
