Garcetti pushes L.A. to conserve more water with ‘Save the Drop’

Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti on Thursday announced what he called an “unprecedented outreach campaign” in the city’s continuing effort to get residents to use less water amid California’s drought.

The campaign — titled “Save the Drop” — will coordinate existing outreach programs from across the city, according to a statement from Garcetti’s office.

To aid the campaign, the mayor’s office also unveiled a series of illustrations featuring a cartoon water droplet. One promotional poster featured the droplet with sad eyes bemoaning water waste.

“Water isn’t angry about your 20-minute shower. Just disappointed,” the poster said.

Garcetti kicked off the effort in front of a home in Van Nuys whose owner took advantage of the Department of Water and Power’s lawn replacement rebate to plant California-friendly landscaping.

“Today we launch an unprecedented outreach campaign making sure that every Angeleno is informed about her role that she can play, that he can play here in Los Angeles to make sure they are helping us get through this drought and survive, lower your water use, and at the same time, lower your water bills,” Garcetti told reporters.

In addition to a website, the campaign includes a Twitter handle (@SavetheDropLA) and a hashtag (#SaveTheDropLA) to promote the campaign on social media.

The push to conserve comes about a week after Gov. Jerry Brown imposed the first mandatory statewide urban water restrictions in California’s history. State regulators issued a preliminary framework calling for L.A. to make a 20% water usage cut off a 2013 baseline over the next year.

Garcetti ordered a citywide 20% cut in freshwater use by 2017 several months ago — and officials have said that if current conservation levels continue, the city is on track to meet the mayor’s order. Garcetti has expressed confidence that Angelenos will help the state achieve Brown’s mandate.

For more drought-related news, follow @ByMattStevens.