On Dec. 4, 2013, the Assn. of California Water Agencies (ACWA) presented the city of San Diego with the 2013 Huell Howser Best in Blue Award for achieving communications excellence with its Water Purification Demonstration Project’s public outreach program. The ceremony took place at the ACWA 2013 Fall Conference & Exhibition Annual Statewide Environmental Conference in Los Angeles.
The Best in Blue Award honors outstanding public water agency efforts in communicating with customers, legislators, media, the public and others. The award is presented to agencies that focus on innovation and transparency while making effective use of available resources.
The city’s Demonstration Project explored and confirmed the feasibility of purifying recycled water for use in supplementing local drinking water supplies. The outreach program included presentations, informational booths at community events, facility tours, informational materials, advertisements and social media. The city council unanimously adopted the project’s findings in April 2013 and set forth directives for implementing water purification in San Diego. The project team is working on the council directives, which include continuing outreach efforts.
Source: San Diego Public Utilities
