Bringing ads to bear in water-quality battle

June Casagrande

How do you get individuals to pay attention to water-quality

rules? Take a lesson from Madison Avenue.

The city will soon be asking themselves just how pithy they want

to get while trying to persuade people not to flick their cigarette

butts in the street or to let soapy water from washing a car run down

the sidewalk and into the storm drain.

“It’s not exactly the ‘Got Milk?’ approach, but that’s the general

idea,” said Assistant City Manager Dave Kiff, who will present some

rough ideas for a public information campaign at Thursday’s meeting

of the city’s water-quality committee.

“Welcome to the beach. Did your runoff get here before you did?”

“You + your dog = bad. You + your dog + your bag = good.”

“All roads lead to the bay. Flick your butt in the ashtray.”

These are just some of the messages that could soon be trumpeted

from banners on Coast Highway and Newport Boulevard.

As lighthearted as the campaign sounds, it’s actually part of the

grave task of trying to meet tough new water-quality rules. Since the

Orange County Sanitation District imposed the new rules last year,

with the city’s support, officials have been worried about how they

will comply with the new mandate to keep pollutants out of the storm

drains.

The city has the power to change its own behavior and has followed

through with stepped up street sweeping, putting filters in storm

drains and finding creative ways to stop debris from rushing into the

bay. And getting businesses to behave is a realistic goal. Changing

individuals’ behavior has loomed as the biggest bugaboo.

So salesmanship may be the solution.

If members of the water-quality committee like this approach to

public education, they may send the idea with their blessing along to

the City Council. If not, City Hall’s ad wizards will go back to the

drawing board.