FROM: James D. Herberg, General Manager
SUBJECT:
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PUBLIC AFFAIRS UPDATE FOR THE MONTH OF APRIL 2022
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GENERAL MANAGER'S RECOMMENDATION
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RECOMMENDATION:
Receive and file the Public Affairs Update for the month of April 2022.
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BACKGROUND
Staff will provide an update on recent public affairs activities.
RELEVANT STANDARDS
• Maintain influential legislative advocacy and a public outreach program
• Build brand, trust, and support with policy makers and community leaders
• Maintain collaborative and cooperative relationships with regulators, stakeholders, and neighboring communities
• Listen to and seriously consider community input on environmental concerns
PROBLEM
The Orange County Sanitation District (OC San) is well-recognized within the water/wastewater industry; however, within our service area there is limited knowledge by our customers of the important work we do to protect public health and the environment. In general, the customers we serve do not realize that when they improperly dispose of waste into the sanitation system, it can negatively affect our sewer lines, our treatment plants, and the quality of water we supply to the Groundwater Replenishment System.
PROPOSED SOLUTION
By providing tours, community outreach, education, and general communication via OC San’s website, social media outlets, and direct mailings, we can educate the community, local agencies, and businesses on our messaging such as the What2Flush program, energy production, water recycling, biosolids, and our source control program. This, in turn, helps improve the quality of wastewater that is recycled or released to the ocean.
RAMIFICATIONS OF NOT TAKING ACTION
If we do not educate the community, local agencies, and area businesses about OC San, we may not have the support necessary to deliver our mission.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION - ACTIVITES FOR THE MONTH OF APRIL 2022
Outreach Report
An outreach report that includes tours, website postings, social media postings, construction notifications, speaking engagements, and more is included as an attachment to this Agenda Report.
Virtual Tours
As COVID-19 restrictions have eased, exceptions have been made for small in-person tours. This month we held three tours for a few of our Board Members, reaching a total of six people.
Social Media
Over the last month, OC San remained active on our social media accounts to continue connecting with our audience. This is a quick snapshot of what we did:
• Facebook: 23 posts and reached 16k people
• Twitter: 19 posts and reached 5.2k people
• Instagram: 17 posts and reached 5.7k people
• LinkedIn: 7 posts and reached 4k people
Presentations
This month staff presented at the Water Environmental Foundation (WEF) on OC San’s collection system, and General Manager Jim Herberg provided a presentation on Large Scale Battery Storage with Utility Executives.
Construction Outreach
OC San continues to keep communities informed of construction activities throughout our service area. There are currently active projects in Fountain Valley, Los Alamitos, Seal Beach, Westminster, Buena Park, Anaheim, and within both of our treatment facilities. Website updates, email and text alerts, and notifications continue to be distributed as the projects progress.
OC Water Insert
For the third year in a row, OC San joined other local agencies throughout the county in a California Water supplemental educational insert which was featured in the Thursday, April 21 Orange County Register issue. The insert highlighted who we are, what we do, and our Capital Improvement Program. The insert is provided as an attachment to this agenda report.
Children’s Water Festival
OC San participated in the Orange County Water District’s Children’s Water Festival, April 25-29. The virtual event featured a mix of live, on-demand, and grab-and-go activities. OC San submitted a 20-minute prerecorded video created by staff highlighting what to flush and our No Wipes in the Pipes campaign. The event reached more than 7,000 third, fourth, and fifth grade students from Orange County.
Community Newsletter
The spring issue of the electronic community newsletter, The OC San Connection, was shared with our public via social media, distribution email lists, and with our member agencies. The issue features stories on various construction projects, OC San initiatives, and much more. The issue can be found online at www.ocsan.gov.
Member Agency Outreach Toolkit
Every quarter an outreach toolkit is created with topics of interest for our customers that is sent to our member agencies to share on their various communication channels. This quarter’s toolkit features the upcoming Wastewater 101 - Citizens Academy. The academy was created to give community members an inside look into our operations. The first session starts on Thursday, May 9 and will conclude at the June Board meeting with a certificate presentation to all the participants. For further details, a link is provided on the Agenda for this item.
Vendor Information Workshop
The second of five vendor workshops will be hosted on May 3. The focus of this workshop is to present upcoming maintenance services contract opportunities to prospective bidders. Over 75 participants registered for the event. The next workshop is scheduled for July. Details can be found using the link provided on the Agenda for this item.
Association Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE)
OC San was awarded the Outstanding Wastewater Project Award for the State College Sewer Construction Project. This is the second time that OC San has been awarded for this project by ASCE. The award was received by the project consultant, Lee and Ro, who attended on our behalf.
ATTACHMENT
The following attachment(s) may be viewed on-line at the OC San website (www.ocsan.gov) with the complete agenda package:
• Outreach and Media Summary Report - April 2022
• Orange County Register California Water Edition 2022