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Denver Water Wants You To Conserve, Unless You’re 'That Guy'

You don't want to be a clueless hipster. Or a stuck-up jerk with a Pomeranian. Or a brah who doesn't give a damn - about water, that is.

At least, that's the sentiment Denver Water is trying to tap in its latest ad campaign.

"The spin this year is, 'Don't be that guy,'", said Travis Thompson, a spokesman for Denver Water.

Each summer, the water utility launches a public relations campaign encouraging its customers to conserve water. The signs, all iterations on the "Don't be that guy" theme can be seen on billboards, buses and bus shelters around the city.

The $700,000 campaign, which will have five billboard spots in prominent Denver locations in August (the sites rotate every month) also involves social media efforts, said Thompson.

"If someone sees our campaign on the street and takes a picture and sends it out on Twitter we are going to respond to them and provide them with more info on where all the water rules may be."

Even though this summer has been fairly wet on the Front Range, Thompson stressed that Denver's water comes from snowpack – the summer rains are nice, but overall not that substantial.

"We still have to be mindful of where we live and we know the next dry period could be right around the corner and we don't know how long these wet times will last."

The storms actually provide an opportunity to educate water users about sprinkler timers, which may get reset to water at inappropriate times following lightning-caused power outages, said Thompson.

Each year, the water utility picks a theme for its "Use Only What You Need" conservation campaign. Last year's was "Use Even Less."

Credit Denver Water
/
Denver Water
An image from Denver Water's conservation ad campaign in 2013.

The Denver Water summer watering rules run May 1 through Oct. 1, and are available on their site.

Stephanie Paige Ogburn has been reporting from Colorado for more than five years, primarily from the Western Slope.
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