The Garland Water Utilities Department won a national award for its newly published story map, “We Keep it Flowing, Coming or Going.”
The National Association of Clean Water Agencies awarded this year’s Public Information & Education Award to the department’s presentation. Garland’s multimedia production walks the viewer through the City’s history of water and wastewater services and concludes with the technology that we use today. Pictures, graphics and video all contribute to the storytelling style of this project.
“It was a great opportunity to research our City’s history and tell our story in a new way,” Garland Water Utilities’ Environmental Outreach Coordinator Lorrie Reeves said.
The project relied heavily on the use of information technology for maps, graphics and story map software.
“It was a unique opportunity to combine outreach and technology to bring something new to our outreach efforts. The story map tool allowed us to visually represent elements of our history and bring our present-day operations to life through the use of maps and graphics along with our story,” Public Works Operations Technology Manager Cynthia Baughman said.
The Public Information & Education Awards honor agencies for inventive efforts to educate the public on the effects of wastewater treatment and pollution control on the environment.
You can explore the story map at GarlandWater.com.