Rancho California Water District Receives Public Communications Award

From Rancho California Water District:

The Rancho California Water District (RCWD/District) Board of Directors accepted the Public Communications Award from the American Water Works Association for their drought outreach program. This award is given to annually to only one Water District in the Nation with more than 25,000 customer accounts.

“This award is a testament to Rancho California Water District’s commitment to informing customers of water supply conditions,” said Jeff Armstrong, General Manager. “The entire District worked together to provide excellent communication to customers and our customers responded with a 28% reduction in water usage.”

In order to receive the award, a utility must demonstrate ongoing commitment to public outreach, show a linkage between communication efforts and the organization’s operational goals, establish communication objectives, execute activities and document results.

RCWD attended numerous public events, held public workshops, developed MyWaterTracker (a tool for customers to track daily water usage versus budget), mailed out materials, posted signs throughout the community, partnered with the City of Temecula, developed customer friendly videos, and used electronic communication to get information to customers about the drought, water supply conditions, and what RCWD was doing to meet the state mandated reduction target.

“It is an honor to receive this award recognizing the efforts that RCWD made during this difficult time”, said Board President, Bill Plummer. “A special thank you to our customers for listening to the message and responding with reduced water use.”

Image via Rancho California Water District