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.
The Water News Network was awarded first place as the Best Public Service or Consumer Advocacy Website in the 49th annual San Diego Press Club Excellence in Journalism Awards. It’s the fifth consecutive year the WNN website has won first place in that category. The award for best public service website is one of seven awards the WNN received during a ceremony October 25 at Balboa Park.
The Water News Network was awarded first place as the Best Public Service or Consumer Advocacy Website in the 49th annual San Diego Press Club Excellence in Journalism Awards. It’s the fifth consecutive year the WNN website has won first place in that category. The award for best public service website is one of seven awards the WNN received during a ceremony October 25 at Balboa Park.
San Diego County Water Authority Public Affairs Department staffers Ed Joyce and Kimberlyn Velasquez, and Water Resources Specialist Joni German, also were recognized with awards for their work on the Water News Network.
Joyce received two second place awards in two categories for original reporting: Online and Daily newspapers: Environment, for “California Drought Now in Third Year” and Online and Daily newspapers: General News, for “Pure Water Oceanside Provides New Local Supply of Drinking Water.”
Elected officials and water leaders throughout Southern California, including San Diego County Water Authority General Manager Sandra Kerl, celebrated the dedication of Pure Water Oceanside on March 22 in Oceanside. Photo: San Diego County Water Authority
German took second place in the Online and Daily newspapers: Series – Light Subject, for “WaterSmart Living Series,” which was created to showcase the steps needed to create water-efficient landscapes.
Velasquez was awarded honorable mention for Photography/Video in the Feature-Light Subject category for her video, “Hauck Mesa Storage Reservoir Moving to Completion,” which included in a WNN story on the project.
The WNN took home a second-place award in the Online and Daily newspapers category: Public Service/Consumer Advocacy, for “Spring Valley HOA and Watershed Benefit from Landscape Optimization Service.”
Former Public Affairs Dept. intern Noah Harrell won third place in the Online and Daily Newspapers: Military category for “Skillbridge Interns Explore Career Opportunities After Military Service.”
The Vallecitos Water District also won a first place for Television/Online Video editing for “Imagine a Day Without Water,” a video featuring San Marcos Mayor Rebecca Jones, which was featured in a WNN story.
In only its fifth 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.
Update: On November 16, the San Diego County Water Authority outreach program, “Drought Safe San Diego,” won a Silver Award of Excellence at the annual Public Relations Society of America, San Diego-Imperial Counties chapter 2022 Edward L. Bernays Awards.
(Editor’s note: The Vallecitos Water District and the City of Oceanside are two of the San Diego County Water Authority’s 24 member agencies that deliver water across the metropolitan San Diego region.)
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.
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.
“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.”
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.”
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.)
The San Diego County Water Authority received two awards at the 2022 California Association of Public Information Officers (CAPIO) EPIC Awards competition for California public agency communication programs.
The Water Authority’s “Drought Safe San Diego” public outreach campaign won an EPIC Award (first place) for Communications or Marketing Plans/Campaigns – In-House; and an Award of Distinction for Video Production – Promotional – In House.
The Water News Network was honored with awards from several organizations recently, including the Public Relations Society of America.
On November 18, the WNN received a Bronze Bernays Award of Merit in the websites category from the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) San Diego/Imperial County chapter. It is the second consecutive year the WNN website has received this award.
The Water News Network website has been named “Best Website” among California public agencies for 2020 in the California Public Information Officers EPIC Awards competition.
The CAPIO EPIC Awards recognize the “best of the best” in government communications throughout the state. Winning entries demonstrate the most creative and effective efforts in the areas of communication and marketing campaigns, newsletter production, photography, special events, writing, website development and video production.
The Water News Network is San Diego County’s source for water news and information.
