Town hopes water customers cotton to cartoon conservation advocate

Who do you think is going to take advice from a cartoon
character named “Howie Save” who has a head shaped like a faucet
and wears a Hawaiian shirt replete with large drops of water?
The town of Windsor is hoping water customers of all ages cotton
to the funny-looking conservation advocate who will be arriving in
their mailboxes on a regular basis.
Windsor water officials have launched the 2003 Water
Conservation Campaign and are hoping the light-hearted cartoon
postcards, featuring Howie Save will encourage the town’s water
users to conserve the precious resource during the critical summer
months.
“Since we want to appeal to all ages and ask them to conserve
water, we decided a faucet cartoon character and cartoon scenes
would be fun, and at the same time, get our message across,” said
Cheryl Godwin, the town of Windsor’s water conservation
manager.
Godwin said the town’s conservation goal is to cut water usage
by 15 percent from June through September, a goal that is in line
with the Sonoma County Water Agency’s countywide conservation
goal.
“We hope to raise awareness for the whole concept of water
conservation,” said Godwin. “One of the biggest reasons for doing
this that one of the Town Council’s highest priority goals is to
promote energy efficiency and conservation of natural
resources.
“The town is trying to do its part to contribute to the ongoing
county goal of 15 percent reduction.”
The average household in Windsor uses 15,600 gallons of water
during the summer, said Godwin. Last summer the entire town used
169 million gallons per month.
Windsor draws its water from several wells along the banks of
the Russian River, pumping from the underflow of the river.
While the town believes it has adequate supplies to meet its
needs under most circumstances, the flows in the Russian River may
be severely limited in the future, owing to a complex set of
negotiations and agreements that hinge on protecting the endangered
fisheries and balancing human demands. (See story on page 1 of this
issue.)
The first in a series of six Howie Save postcards were mailed to
water customers in June. Water Conservation Tip #1 reminds
residents to check their sprinkler heads. It shows Howie sitting in
a lounge chair and noticing that his backyard sprinkler heads are
all leaking.
The second postcard, which will be sent this month, reminds
residents to check the timing settings on their irrigation
systems.
Godwin estimated that about two thirds of residential water
usage during the summer is for outdoor irrigation.
Subsequent Howie Save postcards will show water customers how to
prevent runoff from excess watering, how to cut indoor water use
and how to conserve water on landscape irrigation.
The postcards were created by Sonoma County artist Eric Martin,
in collaboration with a team of town staff members. One side of the
card depicts Howie Save and the other lists water-saving ideas,
such as watering at night, using a hose with a shut-off nozzle to
wash your car, positioning sprinklers to prevent water running off
into the street, and other obvious and not-so-obvious tips.
Free water conservation kits are available at Windsor Town Hall,
9291 Old Redwood Hwy., Monday through Thursday from 7 a.m. to 6
p.m.
available at the town’s website: www.townofwindsor.com