WEF’s new Senior Director of Communications and Public Outreach, Travis Loop, blogs about tools WEF provides for water advocacy efforts.
One thing I have quickly discovered during my brief time at WEF is the intense interest and deep commitment among water professionals to spreading the word about the value of water to our health, communities, and economy.
As WEF’s new Senior Director of Communications and Public Outreach, it is a top priority for me to join you in conveying these messages to the public, media, and decision-makers. It will also be vital for WEF to continue providing tools to help you with advocacy efforts.
While it is always the right time for “the water quality people” to communicate about the importance of water, Earth Day – and the month of April – present an opportunity for a concerted push to raise awareness. Here are a variety of resources you can use in outreach:
- As the White House and Congress work on spending levels for Fiscal Year 2018, WEF and several organizations have signed a letter to support continued federal investment in water infrastructure, geographic watershed programs, and water research programs.
- WEF recently joined the Value of Water Campaign in releasing “The Economic Benefits of Investing in Water Infrastructure,” a report which finds that closing the nation’s gap in investment in water infrastructure would create 1.3 million jobs and generate $220 billion in economic activity. In addition to the report itself, you can use a fact sheet on the economic benefits of investing in water infrastructure and a flyer on elevating water as a national priority.
- WEF joined the American Water Works Association to build a series of infographics to help members communicate about the value of water. In addition to the national snapshot, there are infographics for regions of the country and in Spanish. More materials including talking points, radio PSAs, and bill stuffers will be released in the coming weeks at www.wef.org/value-of-water.
- WEF’s Water Advocates Program is a simple and effective way for you to become more involved with engaging elected officials and the public on important water issues. The Water Advocates Program provides training and tools for grassroots advocacy, with the goal of creating a network of water advocates across the country.
These tools can help you start conversations with elected officials and other decision-makers about the needs of the water sector. You can use these resources in pitching the media stories about your local water issues. The materials can also help you raise public awareness about the value of water in your communities, perhaps via meetings, events, or social media. And I look forward to being an additional resource in helping our industry to spread the word about water.
Posted (4/18/2017)
Travis Loop is the Senior Director of Communications and Public Outreach for the Water Environment Federation. He has more than 17 years of experience in communications, government, and media, with a focus on environmental and water issues. Travis most recently served as the director of communications for EPA’s Office of Water and previously managed public affairs for the Chesapeake Bay Program. Prior to that, he was the speechwriter and a communications manager for the Governor of Hawaii. Travis spent the first seven years of his career as a newspaper reporter and editor in North Carolina; Washington, D.C.; and Hawaii.