Utilities Digital Solutions Asia

Water Sally, Wipesaur and three other water utility mascots

Thursday, 7 January 2021

Singapore water agency, PUB, announced Water Sally to help younger generations think about water conservation. We looked at four other water utility mascots.

Influencing positive behaviour with Water Sally

Perhaps better known for its leading efforts on water reuse and desalination, Singapore water agency PUB is now turning its efforts to encouraging younger generations to think early about saving water.

The water utility has introduced ‘Water Sally’ as part of a wider Water Conservation Campaign to work in tandem with its original blue droplet mascot, Water Wally,

On a mission to champion water sustainability, the ambition behind the campaign is to “influence positive behaviour in the younger generation and help them be more aware of how climate change is affecting our water sustainability," said Cindy Keng, director, 3P Network.

Targeting school-age children, it is hoped the new mascot will spark conversations around water sustainability and the impact of climate change in Singapore.

An animated short film (as can be seen below) called ‘Dear Water Sally’ was used to announce Sally’s arrival, including the National Dal Parade song, Count on me Singapore.

Mascots are commonly used by water utilities to help engage with the community at public events and to also promote messages, including water conservation. We found four other examples below.

Wipesaur – Yorkshire Water

Is it a bird? Is it a plane? No, it’s an eight-foot tall anti-blockage dinosaur called Wipesaur. Yorkshire Water’s mascot frequently lets people know the consequences of flushing wet wipes down the toilet, which became an even bigger challenge during the pandemic after toilet roll shortages. Each year it’s estimated that the utility spends £2.4 million repairing more than 30,000 sewer blockages.

Wipesaur isn’t that scary, is he?

Running Toilet – Denver Water

Known as “Running Toilet”, this leaky mascot from Denver Water in the US is apparently an expert in dancing, basketball, water efficiency and…”punching Steve”, whatever that means. He’s also not afraid of competitive and had a dance-off with other utility mascots (see Tweet below).

@FWWater challenged us to a #danceoff. @dcwater @neorsd want in? @MySAWS @savedallaswater
Here we go:#RunningToilet #DancingToilet pic.twitter.com/J3gEtq5hO5
— Denver Water 💦 (@DenverWater) March 16, 2019

The Running Toilet originated as part of Denver Water’s ‘Use Only What You Need’ Campaign in 2007.

“The idea was to bring attention to the fact that old, leaky “running” toilets are the biggest water-wasters,” the utility said. “The Use Only What You Need Campaign also promoted toilet rebates and a replacement programs to fix and replace toilets in the Denver Metro Area to address water waste in the city.”

After the campaign was completed in 2015, Denver Water has shifted its messaging from conserving water to water efficiency. As a result, the Running Toilet is used to help share key messaging in social media, as well as public events including the annual Parade of Lights.

Mike Drop – Anglian Water

Anglian Water’s Mike Drop (get it?) spends his time tackling water wastage, saving goals and scoring tries. The mascot is part of a wider ‘Love Every Drop’ strategy that the utility says will help to safeguard future water supplies, including 12 business goals.

5 water utility mascots

Wendy the Water Drop – DC Water

Forget Britney Spears’s ‘Hit my baby one more time’, DC Water’s mascot Wendy the Water Drop hit the headlines after a rendition entitled ‘Chlorinate Me One More Time’. Er yes.