City of Rialto
The City of Rialto Perchlorate Contamination
The City of Rialto has a serious problem with perchlorate in their water supply. Perchlorate levels are much higher than the acceptable government standards. MBI Media was brought in to help inform and educate the general public about where the perchlorate came from, how perchlorate affects the residents of the city and the serious potential health effects.
Community outreach and education were the areas that the City of Rialto used MBI’s expertise. It was crucial that the residents were informed about the potential problem without causing unnecessary alarm and panic. This was accomplished by using numerous approaches. The first item of business was to create a “tagline” and an associated logo or picture to reinforce the tagline. The tagline created was “No Tolerance Policy” with a picture of a water drop with perchlorate chemicals in it and a big red line going through the drawing. This tagline and picture was used on every piece of literature and marketing materials.
In addition to the tagline, a newsletter was created. The purpose of the newsletter was to educate the public on perchlorate. The newsletter contained articles explaining perchlorate and the possible health effects of perchlorate. A history of the potentially responsible parties was a key element of the newsletter as well as an update of the City’s response to dealing with the perchlorate issue to ensure the drinking water for its residents was safe.
A fact sheet and inserts for water bills was another project that was put in the hands of MBI Media. We were also responsible for creating and negotiating price and placement for ads that ran in the San Bernardino Sun, the Press Enterprise and the Daily Bulletin. MBI was also the press contact and responsible for creating and sending out media advisories.
The project culminated in a public workshop. We facilitated the entire event which included moderating the workshop. Our staff hired the speakers for the night and created the PowerPoint presentation that was shown. Comment cards, sign-in sheets and display boards were also the responsibility of MBI Media. The workshop was a huge success. It was evident the public understood the information and was educated because they had read the materials that were sent to them regarding perchlorate.
Currently, the City of Rialto is fighting with the potentially responsible parties and is hoping for some kind of settlement for perchlorate cleanup of the water supply.
