Social Marketing Campaign in Durham, Ontario

In the mid-1990s, the Region of Durham's (Ontario) residential water use was increasing three times faster than its population growth.  It got to the point where an expensive new water treatment facility would soon be needed, unless water use could be decreased.

After an extensive public consultation process, the region launched a widespread water efficiency program. It included providing subsidies for low-flow toilets, publishing a free, 60-page Householder Guide to Water Efficiency and introducing a bylaw whereby homeowners with addresses ending in odd numbers watered their lawns on odd-numbered calendar days, and those with even numbers watered on even days.

The region employed a non-coercive, social marketing approach, which relies heavily on personal communication to change behaviour.  This approach was emphasized in one program that sought to reduce residential outdoor water use in the summer. Trained summer students, dressed in t-shirts and hats with water-efficient logos, went door to door talking to some 1,000 homeowners about their outdoor water use, while providing information on how to decrease consumption.  To help residents measure the amount of water their lawns received from watering and rainfall, the region distributed 20,000 free rain gauges each summer.  It also provided homeowners with a "prompt", a sticker applied next to their outdoor tap as a reminder of when to water.  Finally, homeowners were asked to make a written commitment to reducing their outdoor water use.

"As a result of the program, summer water use dropped by 215 litres per household per day, or 32 per cent, and they've been able to maintain a 25-26 per cent reduction going forward for five to six years," says environmental psychologist Doug McKenzie-Mohr, a consultant to the Region of Durham on its water efficiency initiative.

"The broad acceptance of rain gauges shows that people recognize the connection between improved lawn health and moderated lawn watering, which is especially important when summers are hotter and drier than average," says the region's website.