Last year, Santa Ana’s Water Resources Division launched a comprehensive campaign called “Every Drop Counts: Let’s Not Waste It.” The campaign was designed to educate the community about the drought, Santa Ana’s Level 2 Water Shortage requirements, and ways to conserve water and help the City could reach its 12 percent target.
The Campaign
| Under this campaign, we used every possible channel for our outreach. We sent out bill inserts and newsletter articles. We posted online articles and pushed out water saving tips through social media. We created pull-up banners and flyers for public areas and events. We displayed outdoor ads at bus shelters and used LED billboards at Santa Ana College and Santa Ana Stadium to reinforce our conservation message. We also lined main thoroughfares with banners, each featuring an important water saving tip. We even wrapped our community outreach vehicle with the “Every Drop Counts” logo and designed special campaign t-shirts and yard signs to pass out to residents at community events. |
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In The Community
Speaking about community events, we attended more than 100 last year. From weekly farmer’s markets and neighborhood association meetings to SOMOS and the Plaza Wellness 5K Run, our staff was on hand to pass out Santa Ana’s award winning water, free giveaways as well as conservation flyers and other promotional items.
Recognizing the importance of educating kids about conservation, we launched a Youth Poster Contest using our campaign theme to teach wise water use. We promoted it through the Santa Ana Unified School District, recreation centers and several special events at Bowers Museum, The Discovery Cube OC and MainPlace. You can read more about the contest and winners here.
Hotels & Restaurants
To support Santa Ana businesses, we created a program for hotels and restaurants and provided tent cards free of charge. The tent cards were designed to educate patrons and guests about the drought, why drinking water is only available upon request, and ways guests can help hotels conserve water by reducing their laundry.
“Every Drop Counts” made a difference and residents took the conservation message to heart. We exceeded our target. In fact, as a community, we cut our water use by 17 percent. With awareness and effort, the “Every Drop Counts” campaign proved what can happen when a community comes together for a good cause!