Last year Dropcountr went through the process of adapting the HOME customer portal for our spanish-speaking users. As an organization we always knew a portion of our community speak a language other than english at home; how many, however, was an unknown and rather eye-opening experience for many of us.

Successful engagement is core to our business and an essential ingredient to utility:customer relations. Providing multi-language support and a means for utility staff to parse through customers language of choice became an obvious need after several discussions with our partners and end users – particularly those in predominantly Spanish-speaking regions. The HOME portal has been live and deployed for five months now, and we continue to refine and adapt it overtime.

But not everybody has the bandwidth or staff count to produce materials for their Spanish-speaking community, so we’ve pulled together some resources over the past couple months that you and your staff might found helpful.

Thinking about translating your materials (website, pamphlets, bills, etc)? Looking for some tips? We went through the process last year – made some mistakes (they were corrected), used some services (they were helpful), collected some feedback (makes us better) – and are happy to share lessons learned. Drop us a line at hello@dropcountr.com, we’d love to hear from you.

Helpful links for your customers

VIDEO –  Tips for conserving water (Consejos para conservar el Agua)
This 60-second video from the Regional Water Providers Association out of Portland covers indoor water conservation in a family-friendly format. Great for sharing on social media!

PRINT OUTConserve water in the house (Ahorra agua en casa)
This PDF from Acciona is perfect for teaching children some of the basics in saving water. Print it out for families that come into the office or encourage them to print it out at home by sending this link <bit.ly/ahorra_printout> in a bill announcement.

VIDEO – Water the grass less often in the winter (Riega el pasto menos seguido en el invierno)
This video from the Salt Water Project reminds customers that watering the lawn during winter months is maybe not needed. Short and fun, your customers are bound to love it. You can also check out their wonderful library of other short videos.

FOOTPRINT CALCULATOR – What’s your water footprint? (Cual es su huella hídrica?)
The famous water footprint calculator from the Grace Communications Foundation helps customers understand their water footprint beyond what’s presented on the bill. It’s quick, it’s informative, and it connects customers with their choices. Kudos to the GCF team for providing a spanish version!

TIPS Conserve our water (Conserva nuestra agua)
Take Care of Texas put together a quick and digestible guide for saving water in the great state of Texas (and beyond). Indoor and outdoor tips abound.

BLOGSave our water (Salve nuestra agua)
This blog from ACWA and the CA DWR is a statewide water conservation program now in its 8th year. Regular blog posts, videos and blog posts help spanish speaking Californians conserve their water use.

DIAGRAMThe water cycle (El Ciclo del agua)
Understanding the water cycle is a fundamental step towards appreciating how expensive it is to source, treat and deliver fresh clean water. USGS put together a diagram of the water cycle for children (and adults!) that explains this complex process.

Was this helpful? Want more? Thinking about translating your materials? Drop us a line at hello@dropcountr.com or find us on LinkedIn.