3_Presentation on water conservation program investment and marketing activities — original pdf
Backup
Presentation on water conservation program investment and marketing activities 9/19/2024 Austin Water Conservation Program Investment Overview AW has a permanent Water Conservation Division of more than 20 staff members • Division addresses incentives, enforcement, inspections, and analysis • Additional staff are brought on during the annual irrigation season and during drought Ten staff members work on onsite water reuse and the engineering of the centralized reclaimed system, with many more maintaining and expanding the system Water loss mitigation activities are undertaken with a utility leak detection team, as well as a contracted leak detection firm AW Staffing Levels Austin Water Teams/Divisions Permanent Positions Temporary Positions Demand Reduction (Water Conservation Division) Total Enforcement & Compliance Customer Programs Research & Planning Reclaimed and Reuse Total Onsite Water Reuse Team Engineering Systems Planning Water Loss Total Data analysis Leak detection – Austin Water Leak detection – contracted staff 22 9 6 5 10 5 2 3 7.5 1 4 2.5 6 6 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 Note: Additional staff work on outreach to customers and to develop the water and reclaimed water systems. Water Conservation Division Comparison Utility Number of Permanent Staff Single Family Connections (TWDB, 2022) Positions per 50,000 Single Family Connections 27* 237,934 San Antonio Water System 224,266 Austin 281,331 Dallas 199,925 El Paso Fort Worth 264,888 *plus 4 temporary staff, ** plus 6 temporary staff 22** 12 8 5 5.7 4.9 2.1 2.0 0.9 Questions Conservation Communications & Outreach Update Austin Integrated Water Resource Planning Community Task Force September 19, 2024 Randi Jenkins, Assistant D irector, Customer Experience Geneva Guerrero, Public Information Program Manager Agenda Communications Overview Spring Quarter Activities: • Community Events and Outreach • Educational Programming • Advertising Campaigns • My ATX Water Leak Notifications • Social Media Engagement • Web Traffic Indicators Conservation Rebate Applications Community Events and Educational Outreach APRIL – JUNE: Fix A Leak Week Water Conservation Outreach at Utility Bill Payment Centers Water Conservation Lunch & Learns Water Forward Plan Virtual Session 13 Other Community Events 40 Dowser Dan Appearances TOTAL REACHED: 9,173 Advertising Campaigns APRIL – JUNE: WaterWise Landscapes Drought Stage Awareness Conservation Rebates Irrigation & Outdoor Watering Schedules Register for My ATX Water ~4 MILLION IMPRESSIONS My ATX Water Portal Campaign & Communications Robust communications plan still in action • Weekly install and portal recruitment emails open rate continues to average almost 70% • Over 50,000 customers registered on the portal • Portal used regularly to inform customers of issues in their area community events • Utilizing our new Portal Pocket Guide for outreach and • More than 92,000 leak alerts sent this year Social Media Engagement APRIL – JUNE: Post/Stories: 209 Total Reach: 238,686 Likes and Reactions: 2,846 Shares: 537 OVERALL ENGAGEMENT: 2.32% (above average for Gov’t accounts) 12 Current Campaign: We’re Still In a Drought The Summer 2024 Drought Campaign aims to raise awareness of Austin’s current state of drought. Graphics using different personas, tone, and voice will be used to approach a broad audience and bring light to ways Austinites can save water. 13 Web Traffic April - June Digital ad + social post links Landing page banners Enhanced navigation and graphics Improved online rebate application process 46,941 UNIQUE VISITORS 410,106 INTERACTIONS 16 INTERACTIONS PER USER (Rebates, Tools, Programs) WaterWise Landscape & Rainscape Rebate Applications April – June 2024: 94 applications received Contributing factors: • Online applications removed a key barrier to apply • Web page improvements – more visuals, all rebates in one place • Media release and coverage • Weather – less severe winter, more planting this year Questions?