Clarity Blog

Dear friends,

Here’s the lead on a recent LA Times story about snowpack levels in the Sierras:

“The warnings have been ominous this winter: California is headed into the worst drought in modern history. The water supply is drying up. Or, as one water association declared last week, ‘Things just keep getting worse and worse.’

“Is it really that bad?”

The story answers that question with a “no,” based on new DWR measurements that showed the Sierra snowpack at 80 percent of normal with another storm on the way. Then it delivers a body-slam to the reputation of California’s water industry:

“The water interests who have spit out grim news releases the last two months were silent Monday in the face of the growing snowpack.

“Those who would like to build new reservoirs and canals and to weaken environmental regulations have invoked the drought like a mantra in recent weeks.”

By the tone of the piece, you could argue that the reporter wants readers to think our cautions about possible water shortages were designed not so much to conserve water, but to encourage an infrastructure building spree. That may be why it wasn’t until the next to the last paragraph that other water supply factors, including “growing environmental problems in the delta” were mentioned.

The need for strong conservation messages

I was curious whether the industry’s messaging could have been stronger, so I sent the reporter an email asking why regulatory issues impacting water supply were not given more prominence. Her response:

“The story was not about the litigation. It was about characterizations of a hydrological condition that do not match the hydrological facts.”

Well, that’s one way to look at it, but the hydrological facts are only one aspect of the supply issues the state faces. Water purveyors were concerned about reduced allocations and we shared our concerns, but did we over-sell the drought? Do we need to totally rethink our conservation messages? Neither, in my opinion. Here’s what I recommend:

1. Know that you’re the trusted media. A recent survey by the Municipal Water District of Orange County confirmed what I’ve seen elsewhere: For water news, people trust their local water district’s communications more than they trust the media, so be an effective alternative news source.
2. Protect the trust you’ve built. Strategically written, informative messages will help you pass along information that people will remember without the need for sensationalizing.
3. Stay on message. Continue to emphasize that both climate and regulation impact supply reliability. It’s a good message that gives us the opportunity to educate our customers about the challenges the state faces, since California water users are affected as much by the legal climate as the weather climate … and it doesn’t look like the legal climate is changing any time soon.

Interestingly, the day after the reporter and I emailed each other, she wrote a follow-up story that contained this far superior description of the pressures on California’s water agencies:

“It’s not just an issue of measuring the snowpack or forecasting runoff,” [Lester] Snow said.

He said supply is strained by population growth, curbs on pumping from the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta to protect the threatened delta smelt, and a shift to permanent agricultural crops that can’t be fallowed easily.

Pumping limits this year have cost the state system enough water to supply more than 300,000 homes, Snow said.

Good for her … and isn’t it amazing what just a little media relations can accomplish?

Please share your thoughts with me by email (laer@laer.com) or phone (949/599-1212).

For those on LinkedIn, please consider joining Water Conservation Professionals, a group I started to encourage dialog and education on this critical topic.

This entry was posted on Monday, March 23rd, 2009 at 12:07 pm and is filed under Laer's Latest, Water. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.