Unprecedented Water Conservation Actions in Southern California Necessitate Communications Watershed

In 2015, the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California become a center of national and international media attention. Governor Jerry Brown had declared a drought state of emergency, and Metropolitan’s Board of Directors was investing $450 million into the nation’s largest turf removal and water conservation rebate program.

Bob Muir, chief press spokesperson and communication planner for Metropolitan, then stepped in to shape his agency’s public messages describing the seriousness of the situation, how the impacts would be felt by Southern Californians and Metropolitan’s actions to manage available water supplies. Through a comprehensive media outreach plan, he and his team catalyzed cogent news stories in major newspapers around the world and convinced Southern Californians to adopt drought-tolerant landscaping practices and install water-saving devices by the thousands. He also helped craft Metropolitan’s award-winning, $5.5 million water conservation advertising campaign, which generated nearly one billion impressions throughout the Southern California media market on TV, radio, outdoor, digital and social media .

For this work, Bob was honored as NAGC's Communicator of the Year at the 2016 Communications School. In anticipation of our 2017 Communicator of the Year presentation in June, Bob will discuss his 2015 accomplishments and how he and his colleagues have shaped Metropolitan messaging in the ensuing years as water issues continue to grip California and the American West.