Metropolitan Water District--Agency in Search of an Identity
What to call the Metropolitan Water District--CalTap, MetWater, MetroWater, the Met? The MWD, as it has been known up to now, has hired a public relations firm to find out what nickname the public prefers.
“We’ve just become increasingly aware that the Met doesn’t have much of an identity in Southern California,” said JoAnn Lundgren, MWD’s communications and community relations manager.
The MWD, which furnishes water to about 13 million Southern Californians via the Colorado River and State Water Project, is paying the public relations firm of Hill & Knowlton $30,000 to find the best moniker.
The MWD is sometimes confused with the Los Angeles city Department of Water and Power, commonly called DWP, Lundgren said.
One problem is that the MWD does not sell water directly to consumers but rather to 27 water agencies that distribute it to homes and businesses.
District General Manager Carl Boronkay asked Hill & Knowlton to survey 600 households and businesses in MWD country to find out what name they’d prefer for MWD, and to quiz respondents about their understanding of water issues in California.
Nicknames under consideration include MetWater, MetroWater, the Met, MWD, CalTap and SoCal Water, Lundgren said.
Regardless of the nickname chosen, he said, the official Metropolitan Water District of Southern California name will remain.
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