In this article, several studies which were commissioned to assess the effectiveness of campaigns after their implementation are discussed. In order to be more effective, the article also discusses the role of construction and planning of water conservation campaigns. The role of ongoing evaluation when developing public information programs as demand management tools is also pointed out.

For the purposes of this article, public information campaign evaluations are defined as having an identifiable component of information or persuasion. Other policy evaluations pertaining solely to legislation for water-efficient appliances or introduction of pricing policies have been omitted, although technology and price included in water conservation “packages” have been discussed as appropriate. It is acknowledged, however, that the implementation of any new demand strategy imparts new information to the consumer as a matter of course.