Kings River Conservation District Wins Best In Blue Award

Earlier this month the Association of California Water Agencies (ACWA) presented its Huell Howser Best in Blue Award to the Kings River Conservation District (KRCD) for its Groundwater Sustainability Agency (GSA) Campaigns for the McMullin Area, North Fork Kings and South Fork Kings.

KRCD utilized core messaging, design elements and tools to educate landowners on the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA), GSAs and an assessment. The district’s target audience included growers and rural community residents, so KRCD focused its outreach by using hyper-localized channels including mailers, meetings, workshops, emails, websites and phone calls. The print and online tools were disseminated in both English and Spanish, and the district collaborated with local nonprofits to reach and educate disadvantaged communities. This comprehensive coverage resulted in three successful campaigns that enhanced transparency and secured five-year GSA budgets.

The award was presented during the ACWA’s Fall Conference & Exhibition in San Diego on December 4. KRCD was among five finalists for the award that honors exceptional communications and outreach programs developed and run by California water agencies.

“It’s important that water agencies continue to educate and engage their customers on significant issues that affect their water supply, such as SGMA,” said ACWA President Brent Hastey. “The success of KRCD’s campaigns showcases how targeted outreach and creative communication can result in successful collaboration with growers and rural community residents.”

Other finalists the award were:

• Citrus Heights Water District for its “Project 2030” Water Main Replacement Study which focused on developing strategies for funding and replacing water mains.
• City of Redding for its comprehensive public outreach program to engage and educate the public on safe water delivery and the nexus between reliable water utility services and emergency-response services.
• Irvine Ranch Water District for its Innovative “Tap 101” campaign that educated and increased awareness about treating and testing tap water to ensure its safety and quality.
• San Diego County Water Authority for its “Brought to You by Water” education and outreach program that demonstrated how everything loved about San Diego is made possible by investments in water reliability.