District takes top honors for water conservation campaign

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District's Fall Back campaign

PALATKA, Fla., May 27, 2020 — The St. Johns River Water Management District’s Office of Communications was recently honored by the Jacksonville Chapter of the Florida Public Relations Association (FPRA) with a Grand All Image Award for its 2019 “Fall Back” outdoor water conservation campaign, as well as an award for excellence in public service communications.

Fall Back Banner

The district’s Office of Communications was recently honored by the Jacksonville Chapter of the Florida Public Relations Association for its “Fall Back” outdoor water conservation campaign.

The district kicked off its year-long Water Less campaign in October 2019. The first segment focused on the “Fall Back” message, building awareness about reducing outdoor watering in the fall to protect Florida’s water supply. The message reached 4.8 million people and more than doubled the number of visitors to the district’s water conservation information webpages. Respondents to a post-campaign survey indicated increased willingness to change their yard irrigation behavior to conserve water.

“The campaign was built by a communications team passionate about water conservation and that contributed tremendously to its ongoing impact with our residents,” said Communications Manager Nancy Rubin. “We continue to emphasize easy-to-make changes that will cut back on outdoor water use and we are grateful for FPRA’s recognition.”

The honor was presented by the FPRA in a virtual ceremony due to COVID-19.

The FPRA Jacksonville Chapter Local Image Awards competition is conducted annually to recognize outstanding public relations programs and to encourage and promote the development of public relations professionalism in the greater Jacksonville area. To qualify for judging, an entry must incorporate sound public relations research and planning, meeting the highest standards of production, execution, and evaluation of results and budget.

The award-winning Fall Back message was followed by a winter season theme to encourage skipping every other week of outdoor watering during the coolest months of the year. The springtime message of “Did You Set It and Forget It?” reminds property owners who irrigate their lawns and landscapes to give their sprinkler systems a checkup to ensure it is functioning properly and follows mandatory watering restrictions. The final message, “Watch the Weather, Wait to Water,” kicks off in June and urges property owners to let Mother Nature do most of the watering this summer.

Follow the Water Less campaign at www.WaterLessFlorida.com for tips and information. Join the conversation at #WaterLessFlorida #waterconservation #sjrwmd.