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Gayle Falkenthal (L) and Lisa Urabe display the San Diego County Water Authority and Vallecitos Water District's multiple San DIego Press Club Journalism Awards. Photo: San Diego County Water Authority Press Club Awards

Water News Network Best Public Service Website for Sixth Year at San Diego Press Club Awards

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For the sixth consecutive year, the San Diego County Water Authority’s Water News Network website was recognized as the Best Public Service/Consumer Advocacy Website. The Water News Network was awarded for its public outreach and education at the San Diego Press Club’s 50th annual Excellence in Journalism Awards.

Among the largest annual competitions in the United States, San Diego’s finest reporters, photographers, writers, artists, and communicators were honored with the region’s top awards.

The Water News Network was awarded first place as the Best Public Service or Consumer Advocacy Website. The WNN has won the award every year since the website launched in mid-2018.

San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria congratulated winners at the San Diego Press Club Journalism Awards. Photo: San Diego County Water Authority Press Club Awards

San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria congratulated winners at the San Diego Press Club Journalism Awards. Photo: San Diego County Water Authority

The award for best public service website is one of five awards the WNN received during a ceremony October 3 at Balboa Park. At the event, San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria recognized the contributions of the San Diego journalism community and the San Diego Press Club over its 50-year history.

Awards for reporting and video production

Water Authority Senior Public Affairs Representative Ed Joyce and former public affairs department intern Noah Harrel received second place for original reporting in the Online and Daily Newspapers: Military category for  “Marine Corps Veteran Shawntrel McCoy Finds Perfect Fit in the SkillBridge Program.”

Writer Gayle Falkenthal received third place in the Online and Daily Newspapers: Public Service/Consumer Advocacy category for “Special Water Rates Program Reduces Costs for San Diego County Growers.”

The WNN team took home a third-place award in the PR, PIO, and Trade Publications Video category, for its Landscape Optimization Program video series.

Water Authority and Vallecitos Water District team honored

A joint entry from the Water Authority and the Vallecitos Water District public affairs team of Chris Robbins, Lisa Urabe, and Alicia Yerman won First Place in the Television/Online Video, Community Service/Public Affairs Reporting category for its Landscape Optimization Program video series, published in the Water News Network and on the Vallecitos Water District YouTube channel.

WNN water news

In its sixth year of operation, the Water News Network is viewed as a reliable source of factual information upholding the standards of journalism to benefit the Water Authority, its 24 member agencies, its stakeholders, and the residents of San Diego County.

The San Diego Press Club honors the region’s best communicators in media each year at the Excellence in Journalism Awards.

Water News Network 2023 San Diego Press Club awards:

Websites, Public Service or Consumer Advocacy Site: First Place, Water News Network

Online/Daily Newspapers, Military: Second Place, Marine Corps Veteran Shawntrel McCoy Finds Perfect Fit in the SkillBridge Program, Ed Joyce and Noah Harrel

Online/Daily Newspapers, Public Service/Consumer Advocacy: Third Place, Special Water Rates Program Reduces Costs for San Diego County Growers, Gayle Falkenthal

PR, PIO, and Trade Publications, Video: Third Place, Landscape Optimization Program Video Series, Water News Network Team

(Editor’s note: The Vallecitos Water District is one of the San Diego County Water Authority’s 24 member agencies that deliver water across the metropolitan San Diego region.)

The Vallecitos Water District's series of videos on using water wisely are being distributed nationwide through the EPA WaterSense program. Photo: Vallecitos Water District/YouTube

Vallecitos Videos Shared Nationwide by EPA WaterSense

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Videos produced by the Vallecitos Water District public affairs team are now being distributed by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s WaterSense program to help educate the public about water conservation nationwide. The videos can be downloaded for free on the EPA WaterSense partner platform.

The district created a series of twelve videos. A new one will be released each month and posted on the Vallecitos Water District’s social media, and shared through the EPA’s social media.

Video for October: “Shower with Power”

“We’ve found video to be a powerful communication tool at the Vallecitos Water District, and we invest a great deal of time and effort in producing high-quality information for our ratepayers,” said Chris Robbins, Vallecitos Water District Public Information/Conservation Supervisor. “We received the EPA request to partner with them to share our videos with other organizations across the U.S. We considered it a compliment and validation of our investment. We’re glad to share the information with a larger audience.”

Creativity and fun

VWD Public Information Representative Alicia Yerman collaborated with Beth Livingston and Veronica Blette of the EPA on the productions including scripting, storyboards, and visual elements.

“Beth and Veronica were the stars, as they provided a lot of the graphics and the data for us to use and make our own for the video,” said Yerman. “They made sure the graphics were up to date with the statistics and allowed us to be free and open for creativity and fun for creating the videos for other agencies to share and download. They helped review the videos to make sure the language fit their goals and criteria.”

November 2022 video has the cheeky title “Ode to the Commode”

WaterSense is a program sponsored by the EPA, designed to encourage water efficiency in the U.S. through the use of a special label on consumer products. The goal of the program is to protect the future of the nation’s water supply by encouraging a nationwide ethic of water efficiency to conserve water resources for future generations and reduce infrastructure costs.

The WaterSense label makes it simple to find water-efficient products, new homes, and programs meeting the EPA’s criteria for efficiency and performance. WaterSense-labeled products and services are certified to use at least 20% less water, save energy, and perform as well as or better than regular models.

Starting in 2019, VWD began using video to document the district’s workforce and infrastructure improvements on its social media platforms and has also engaged the public with discussions of critically important water management issues. It has won multiple awards for its work. VWD also offers live video of its board meetings and other public discussions on its YouTube channel.

(Editors Note: The Vallecitos Water District is one of the San Diego County Water Authority’s 24 member agencies that deliver water across the metropolitan San Diego region.)