In the early 2000’s, Utah Governor Mike Leavitt brought together a water conservation team composed of the state’s Division of Water Resources and the five largest water conservancy districts in the state. Each member of the team contributed funding to create the state’s first water conservation consumer messaging campaign, “Slow the Flow. Save H2 O”. Now commonly known as “Slow the Flow”, this consumer messaging campaign has a permanent home on the internet at slowtheflow.org and serves as a “one stop shop” for water conservation and drought resources for any community (or individual) in the state.

The Slow the Flow website displays several consumer messages that are also on billboards across the state. These messages change over time and include:

“Save for the future, water less today,”
“Utah is in a drought, use less water,”
“Rain delay, don’t water,”
“Protect tomorrow, water less today,” and
“Cooler temps=less watering.”

In addition, the website provides simple water conservation tips for consumers for both indoor and outdoor use, drought actions that consumers can take, and a list of tools and resources including links to rebate programs, the Division of Water Resource’s Weekly Lawn Watering Guide, the Water Check program, water wise plant lists and gardens, and more. Printable materials are also available on the site and include fliers as well as lawn signs.

The Slow the Flow consumer messaging campaign also utilizes social media to get messages out including Facebook, Instagram (@slowtheflowutah), and YouTube (@slowtheflow9510) and encourages communities to follow and share their water conservation messaging across the state. If you have consumer messaging needs (infographics, educational materials), contact the Slow the Flow campaign at waterwise@utah.gov.