ACWA Presents Communications Award to Cucamonga Valley Water District

SAN DIEGO, CA--(Marketwired - Dec 3, 2014) - The Association of California Water Agencies (ACWA) today presented its Huell Howser Best in Blue Award to the Cucamonga Valley Water District for its community tours program.

The award was presented during the annual ACWA Fall Conference & Exhibition in San Diego, where more than 1,600 local water officials are gathered through Friday for programs and panel discussions on a variety of key water issues. Cucamonga Valley Water District was among six finalists for the award that honors stellar communications and outreach programs developed and run by California water agencies.

"Cucamonga Valley Water District's public outreach campaign is an excellent example of a local agency educating the community on water issues through effective outreach," ACWA President John Coleman said. "The district's community tours offered local residents, elected officials and others an opportunity to see the inner workings of a water district. Thousands of people toured the district's stormwater basins, treatment plant, lakes and reservoirs and now know just a little bit more about how water makes it to their taps each day."

Other finalists for this year's award were:

• Contra Costa Water District for its canal safety public education program aimed at increasing awareness of the dangers of swift-moving canal waters;
• Fresno Metropolitan Flood Control District for its "Protect your water...it's just beneath your feet!" PSA campaign that educated the public on stormwater pollution;
• Palmdale Water District for its "Before the First Drop" campaign, a broad public education effort detailing what goes into producing clean water;
• Riverside Public Utilities for its "100 Years of Service" campaign, a year-long celebration of the district's centennial and an opportunity to educate the public about public utility operations; and
• Western Canal Water District for its wildlife and rice farming webcam and social media communications outreach program which chronicled the day-to-day lives of wintering waterfowl that thrive in the rice fields surrounding district headquarters.

ACWA is a statewide association of public agencies whose 440 members are responsible for about 90% of the water delivered in California. For more information, visit www.acwa.com.