Water district wants to set your shower to music to make it quicker during drought

There’s nothing like blasting Adele’s “Set Fire to the Rain” to encourage water conservation -- at least that’s the hope of one Southern California water supplier.

The Metropolitan Water District of Southern California has rolled out a “Water Lover’s Station” on the Pandora website and app featuring many songs about water and rain, with the goal of getting people to take shorter showers. It’s the MWD’s latest effort in its #TakeATurnCA water conservation campaign.

Some of the songs on the list include “I Wish It Would Rain Down” by Phil Collins, “Water Runs Dry” by Boyz II Men, “Purple Rain” by Prince and “Bridge Over Troubled Water” by Simon & Garfunkel. There are more than 100 songs on the Pandora list, with songs timed for five-minute showers.

“Someone can pick their favorite song from the list, press play, turn on the shower and finish before the song ends,” Metropolitan General Manager Jeffrey Kightlinger said in a statement. “Whether you use the songs to time your shower or to listen at work, we are hoping this list will be a fun way to keep the importance of water conservation top of mind.”

In July, the MWD rolled out a $5.5 million advertising campaign to remind people to conserve water and heed the governor’s mandate for a 25% water reduction. The MWD is a consortium of 26 cities and water districts that provides drinking water to nearly 19 million people in parts of Los Angeles, Orange, San Diego, Riverside, San Bernardino and Ventura counties.

Campaign efforts have included re-wrapping the iconic Randy’s Donuts sign to look like a faucet and advertising digitally, on the radio and on TV, said Sherita Coffelt, a spokeswoman for the MWD.

The MWD will also put out a music-streaming playlist on Spanish-language music service Uforia later this summer.

Coffelt said she plans to use the songs to remind herself to take quicker showers. She personally added TLC’s “Waterfalls” and Missy Elliot’s “I Can’t Stand the Rain” to the Pandora playlist.

To access the playlist, visit the Pandora website or download the Pandora application and search for “Water Lover’s Playlist” in the create-a-station box.

“It’s a way to encourage people to take short showers and also to keep water on everyone’s mind,” Coffelt said. “It takes us all working together to really beat this drought.”

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