Will people save water after COVID?

The latest data shows parts of California already in "extreme drought" conditions and snowpack levels 40 percent below normal (a second exceptionally dry season in a row). Water agencies with the ability to purchase extra supplies, like the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California, are already "in-market" shopping around.

For many other water districts, their options to get through this year and next are limited. Although most CA water storage is strong and will ensure reliable supplies this year, veteran water agency leaders and planners know they must look ahead to 2022 and beyond. To avoid drawing down reserves too far, many water agencies will begin to take steps this year for water to be conserved, either voluntarily or by mandate.

The preview for California is happening in Arizona, Nevada and Mexico - which are expected to face massive reductions from Lake Mead as that reservoir drops to the lowest level since it was originally being filled in the 1930s following completion of the Hoover Dam.

Will the public answer the call to save water this time around - especially after living through other major stressors like the pandemic, political division, disinformation campaigns, protests, financial uncertainty, and more?

Here are some items to consider:

• Research. Before dusting off the old "please save water" campaign blueprints, agencies should take the temperature of their customers. Understanding their current state of mind and their priorities in life, knowing where they are getting their information and news (two different channels), how they are arriving at important decisions, and more are critical first steps to develop an effective water conservation campaign in 2021 or 2022.
• Review. Study the public education campaigns for COVID-19 to see what worked and what failed. Perhaps the biggest lessons from this experience were that the public felt the messaging was confusing and that wearing a mask became a political discussion, not a health initiative. The root causes of public perception included, of course, the tone of messaging and amount of misinformation from the former presidential administration. However, there are many lessons still being uncovered and studied here - and knowing where to avoid pitfalls will help with a future water conservation effort.
• Timing. For more than a year, the public has been asked repeatedly to wear a mask, stay home, avoid restaurants and take other precautions to prevent transmission of COVID-19. Now, we're being asked to get vaccinated. As we improve herd immunity and restrictions begin to ease, the demands from public health officials to remain diligent should begin to wane. At that point, we will hear a loud and broad sigh of relief that parts of our lives can return to normal. We can relax, for once. The worse thing a water agency can do is leap right into that break in the action with another demand. Reactions will be predictable: Just as soon as one government agency drops its demands on me, now here comes another government agency with a whole new set of demands of me. "I can't take it anymore" - is the likely refrain if water agencies move too fast. Resistance will be high.
• Acknowledge and pivot. In prior droughts, water agencies found success in thanking customers for doing the right thing, even compliment them for being smart about their water use. After a year of COVID-19, people want to be thanked for rising to the occasion to stop the spread of a deadly disease (even if they didn't do every correct step). Water agencies may not be ready to congratulate customers for being COVID-diligent or to remind customers how the agency took steps to keep employees safe so water operations and customer service were not be interrupted. However, these kinds of messages - sprinkled with reminders how agencies deliver safe drinking water - may be the best start on a journey that eventually leads to a water conservation message. Acknowledging what's on their mind now will help with the receptivity of a future message not related to COVID. Research also may show that people may be thinking about future finances, especially if their pocketbooks were impacted by the pandemic. Pivoting a water conservation message toward financial savings may also catch more positive attention.
• Climate change. Will this phrase be a motivator or a deterrent in a future water conservation campaign? It's hard to say whether the public cares about connecting the dots to one cause of droughts. "Climate change" evokes long-range thinking and solutions, political debates, things possibly out of my control. A call to conserve water is immediate. Carefully structured polls or surveys could help to determine if "climate change" is a positive motivator in a call to action, or a hindrance.

These are uncertain times. Emotions are in flux. COVID-19 has created a whole new set of rules when it comes to communicating with the public and customers about what we know is coming - another drought. The planning, the research begins now.