The City of Santa Monica officially launched its campaign to help residents, visitors, and businesses save water on Saturday at the Santa Monica Festival, focusing on how to achieve the new water-saving goals.
The campaign kicked-off with a fun “Doggy Dishwasher Contest” at the Festival as a tongue-in-cheek way to reinforce the messages that there are easy ways to save water and that the Santa Monica community is leading the way to conserve.
While the City has already taken many efforts to use water efficiently and conserve water in compliance with state and local regulations, the campaign shares straightforward ways to save water, water conservation rebates, the latest water-saving alternatives and new services such as free water consultations.
“We as Californians know we live in an environment with limited water. We’ve made many changes to save water already, but this unprecedented statewide drought means everyone’s efforts are critical to sustain Santa Monica as we know it,” said Dean Kubani, Santa Monica’s Sustainability Manager. “Through this campaign, we hope Santa Monicans see themselves as part of the solution and that being part of the solution is easy.”
Residents, businesses, visitors and others all play a key role in Santa Monica reaching its 20 percent water-savings goals. Key messages for the campaign include communicating that new technologies make saving water easy, while rebate programs help to cover a portion of the cost of high-efficiency fixtures and appliances.
For example, a Santa Monica resident can receive up to $4,500 for replacing their lawn with sustainable landscaping, while businesses can take advantage of rebates for high-efficiency urinals and toilets. Water experts are also available to conduct free water consultations, during which residents and businesses will learn about their water-use habits and how to improve water conservation practices. These consultations will also provide education on technology upgrades and available rebates.
This campaign is designed to promote water saving messages through a variety of means, including print ads in local journals, banners around the city, and social media. A new, easy-to-use website at smgov.net/water has all the information on how to save water and learn about water-saving incentives.
While there are incentives and rebates offered, water use allowances on all utility bills will give each household their personalized water saving target. Implementing water-saving efforts to meet these targets is key to Santa Monica reaching its goal of reducing water use 20 percent.
“Santa Monicans should be proud of the efforts we have made to reduce our impacts on the environment, including using water as efficiently as we can,” stated Mayor Kevin McKeown. “We want this water conservation campaign to reflect our community’s dedication to preserving our quality of life. This
extraordinary drought is an opportunity for us all to pull together, adapt, conserve, and demonstrate water-wise love for this place we call home.”
The City is also taking measures to reduce water use at City facilities as part of reducing community water use and soon signs will be installed spotlighting where the City is taking water saving measures. The irrigation is turned off in grass medians where potable water is used. Water times have been cut 25 percent at all other City parks, and the City is finishing up the installation of high-efficiency toilets, faucets and urinals to ensure all City facilities are as efficient as possible.
For more information, visit www.smgov.net/water, email savewater@smgov.net or call 310.458.8972.
