As so many other water districts in California, Montecito Water District felt the severe water drought. This community in particular was built on land with precious little water and the District’s General Manager announced a drastic and immediate 30% reduction by all! A moratorium on new home construction set in, pools and spas forbidden to empty or refill. The word, education and updates had to get out quickly to all constituents about rapidly evolving restrictions, before even more severe state mandated cut backs began. In collaboration with a large public relations agency HessConnect assembled an extensive plan to roll out a messaging campaign tailored to this area’s specific audience within a very tight time frame. Based on interactions and engagement stemming from on our online messaging, we used our audience’ tone, voice, and increased familiarity to build good, responsive relations. Residents eventually embraced the restrictions, and became California’s top water savers in the State as it trudged towards a Stage 4 level, cutting its water usage by a stunning 48% – far exceeding the 30% requirement.

With plenty of water usage on extensive private properties and golf courses, Rancho Santa Fe Irrigation District was hit particularly hard with Governor Brown’s mandatory restrictions early on during the drought. The much publicized water usage for this area as one of the highest in California did not make the situation and spotlight on residents or the District any easier. We needed to find a way to use online communications to educate and give initially resistant residents a very strong sense of community and responsibility towards the greater good. Together with one of largest government sector public relations firms, Rauch Communication Consultants, we worked closely and collaboratively with the Marketing Director of this District. I researched, vetted thoroughly, and became familiar with the community through the lenses of community-based events from both social and professional perspectives. I then implemented a very tailored online approach sensitive to the configurations and specific demographics by mirroring this particular community’s existing communications so they could easily identify with the online outreach. After only 2 months, our engagement rose by 2000%, and an average weekly reach of 150%.