NEWS RELEASE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE May 6, 1999

CARY-APEX WATER CUSTOMERS WILL
KICK THE CAN, SAVE WITH THE GAUGE

CARY, NC – Building on the success of last year’s award-winning "Tuna Can Plan" water conservation campaign, tens of thousands of Western Wake water customers are being told this week to "Kick the Can" and "Save with the Gauge" as the Town of Cary and surrounding municipalities launch "Beat-the-Peak ’99". While this year’s conservation message remains the same—one inch of water, once a week, including rainfall--the method of reinforcement is a little different—the one inch "tuna cans" have been replaced with rain gauges. The goal of "Beat-the-Peak 99" is to significantly reduce peak water demand on the Cary-Apex Water Treatment Plant by promoting wise water use, especially outdoors.

In a few days, the towns of Cary, Apex, and Morrisville will begin distributing the real rain gauges to encourage residential customers to limit outdoor irrigation to one inch, once a week, preferably in the morning. The gauges will be accompanied by a flyer telling citizens how to use the plastic gauge to know when their lawns have had enough water. Distribution will occur over the next several weeks as water meter readers from the three towns deliver more than 37,000 gauges on their regular routes. Homeowners will see the brightly-colored information packets sticking up in their yards near the water meter.

"The gauges are real tools that can help make assessing rainfall a fun, educational project for the entire family," said Jennifer Platt, Cary’s Water Conservation Specialist. "Basically, citizens should put the gauge in their yard for the entire summer, checking the water levels before supplementing the rainfall with irrigation. Once the gauge shows one inch of water, that’s all the yard will need for another week." Platt added that the plastic gauges would not rust if left outside for the summer.

New this year is the expansion of Cary’s annual information effort to include residents of Apex and Morrisville as well as Cary. As Cary finalized the details of this year’s campaign, officials invited the two neighbors to participate in the effort since Apex and Morrisville do not have public information or water conservation programs of their own.

"We’re very glad that our neighboring communities accepted our invitation to participate in this year’s information program," said Town Manager Bill Coleman. "Since we all rely on the same water treatment facility and water sources, it makes sense for us all to send a unified message on wise water use."

To help focus attention on "Save with the Gauge", Town officials have elicited the help of their newest water conservation team member, Johnny Gauge. A 15-inch puppet version of a real rain gauge, Johnny Gauge is appearing in print and cable television ads throughout the summer reinforcing the need for everyone to use water wisely.

Citizens can see Johnny Gauge this Friday from 10:00 AM to 2:00 PM at the Town of Cary’s celebration of National Drinking Water Week to be held on the Town Hall Campus.

In addition to educating citizens about one inch of water, officials continue to encourage everyone to do any necessary irrigation during the early morning, preferably before 8:00 AM, rather than in the evening. In the morning, system water reserves are full, and it’s easier for the water plant to meet heavy demand. Watering in the morning is also better for lawns and shrubs because excess moisture does not sit on the plants all evening.

The Town is again appealing to residents and businesses with private irrigation wells to follow the Town’s water conservation program. The messages in the summer campaign are appropriate for all types of water users, and it’s very confusing when people hear the watering messages but then see others watering during the day or at night.

Last year, demand on the Cary-Apex water system peaked at 20.2 million gallons on June 26. This number is significant because the water plant has a maximum productivity of about 16-mgd, and costly water must now be purchased from Raleigh and Durham to help the water plant meet demand.

If demand approaches 22 mgd this summer, the Town may have to implement mandatory water conservation regulations which could prohibit all non-essential water uses including irrigation, washing cars, filling pools, and serving water in restaurants.

"Water conservation helped us keep from implementing mandatory restrictions last summer," said Coleman, "and we hope that citizens will continue to work with us to implement best practices with outdoor water use." Last year the system's water use was projected to peak at 20.6 million gallons and the actual peak was 20.2 million gallons. In addition, the Town's highest-usage residential customers reduced their outdoor water use by 40% between 1997 and 1998.

"Beat-the-Peak 99" stretches over a six month period and involves a multifaceted approach to informing and educating citizens on a variety of water-related topics by utilizing all available information mediums. In addition to the "Save with the Gauge" program, "Beat-the-Peak 99" has several other primary components:

The Golden Gauge Awards: each month beginning in July, a distinguished panel of judges will present the "Golden Gauge" award to both a commercial and a residential customer that demonstrates wise water use and/or water efficient landscape design. A yard sign that is moved from recipient to recipient during the campaign will signify the award.

Score with the Gauge: beginning in June, a specially designed utility bill insert will invite every customer to play "Score with the Gauge"--a family game of charting daily and weekly rainfall as registered in The Gauge. Prizes awarded to customers who complete the chart at the end of the specified time period.

Gauge Page Website: beginning in May, the Gauge Page will be a new section of the Town’s existing website, <www.townofcary.org>, designed to give important information about water use and usage. With Chat With The Gauge, citizens will be able to email Johnny Gauge about how much water is needed and when to irrigate their lawns, water needs of cool-season and warm-season grasses, and efficient irrigation tools.

Gauge it for Yourself: beginning in June, citizens will be able to log on to the Gauge Page and calculate turf size of their property to allow site-specific determination of water needs in gallons per week.

Where’s The Gauge: beginning in August, citizens will be eligible for water-saving prizes when they find hidden Gauges in local newspapers.And back by popular demand from "Beat-the-Peak ’98," are Landscaping Cary Style and the Block Leader Program.

Landscaping Cary Style: beginning in June, the monthly Town publication which focuses on different landscaping topics that promote good water practices, such as planting drought-resistant trees and shrubs, choosing the best type of grass for this area, water wise irrigation methods and tools, proper soil preparation, and water wise landscaping planning and design. Landscaping Cary Style can also be found on the Town’s website. Pocketsize versions will go to Cary homeowners via utility bills, and displays will again be placed in area lawn & garden centers.

Block Leader Program: (ongoing) Cary will continue recruiting volunteers for its Block Leader Program, the grassroots communications effort launched last year between the Town and neighborhoods designed to give residents the latest information on important issues facing their community. Block Leaders spend between three and five hours a month learning about specific Town programs and sharing what they’ve learned with their neighbors. Subjects include water conservation, recycling, and other environmental topics.

The Town of Cary’s Tuna Can Plan took the National Silver Quill public relations award in this year’s competition sponsored by the International Association of Business Communicators. The Tuna Can Plan also won first place for "Comprehensive Campaign" (beating out Pepsi's "Born in the Carolinas" campaign) and the Judges Award for "Best of Show" at the 1999 Sir Walter Raleigh public relations awards.

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MEDIA NOTE: AS EACH ASPECT OF THE SUMMER CAMPAIGN UNFOLDS, YOU WILL BE NOTIFIED BY SEPARATE NEWS RELEASE.