California Urban Water Conservation Council
California Urban Water Conservation Council
Amid the convergence of a shrinking water supply and a dramatically increasing demand, the Environmental Policy Center set out to help California's water agencies and local governments in designing and implementing successful water conservation programs.
Compiling information on water conservation strategies throughout California
EPC started by surveying participating water agencies and local governments to collect their input on water conservation issues. This allowed us to compile an inventory of all of the water conservation programs present in California, complete with descriptions and links to the entity implementing each program. Additionally, we developed a products and services directory to aid water districts in their implementation efforts and act as a centralized hub of water conservation information.
Keeping a finger on the pulse of water conservation issues
EPC conducted an extensive media review, tracking water conservation news stories in California and writing abstracts of the most relevant articles. A part of this effort involved creating a list of key journalists covering water conservation issues, which was a valuable asset for the CUWCC and water districts' media outreach efforts. All of this research was catalogued and made available on the program website.
Building out an online reporting system to track progress on program implementation
In addition to providing a comprehensive resource on water conservation programs, it was necessary to start tracking the progress on program implementation in water districts throughout the state. EPC built an online reporting system that helped the CUWCC keep track of how water districts were taking action on an annual cycle. This provided a valuable method of tracking statewide progress, and identifying ways in which the CUWCC could support water districts in successfully implementing water conservation measures.
The Environmental Policy Center provided examples of the best water conservation materials used for public education and outreach, facilitated their cost-effective replication and developed a network of reporters and editorial writers linked to key water conservation spokespeople. Our work helped provide a foundation for statewide water conservation strategies that is still in use today.