Campaign Reduces Illegal Dumping

It was “mission accomplished” for EPWU’s illegal dumping campaign. Vice President Christina Montoya announced that the campaign achieved both of its goals. It reduced illegal dumping in El Paso’s stormwater system and increased reports made through the dedicated hotline number.

“Illegal dumping is not only an eyesore, but for the stormwater utility it also causes a problem with flooding,” said Montoya. “Our crews removed 70,000 tons of debris and 4,300 tires from the system in fiscal year 2010. We don’t want our stormwater utility to use so many resources and time cleaning up material that could otherwise be avoided.”

The multimedia campaign began in April with public service announcements on television and radio supplemented by newspaper ads, bench ads, posters and billboards. Movie theaters were added during the Memorial Day weekend and the campaign continued through the month of August.

A Collaborative Effort
EPWU collaborated with agencies such as the County Attorney’s Office and Keep El Paso Beautiful. Both helped spread the message by helping distribute nearly 5,000 litter bags and tip sheets. Information was passed out at meetings and events, area car washes, EPWU’s Customer Service Center and El Paso County Water Improvement District No. 1.

“Our strategy was to increase awareness of the problem,” said Montoya. “A lot of people didn’t know what the stormwater system was or that there were places they could take their trash. Educating people decreased the amount of debris we were finding.”

Hotline calls nearly doubled between April and July compared to the number received in the same months last year. Forty percent fewer tires were removed this year than last year and nearly two less tons of debris.

The campaign also includes a video on illegal dumping for fifth- through eighth-grade students. The video is being shown at the TecH2O Water Resources Learning Center and on City 15, the City of El Paso cable channel.