Consumer Outreach Features, Insights, and Analysis

91. A Smarter, Safer Method For Non-Payment Collection 8/30/2019

    Addressing past due accounts traditionally means sending out a crew to turn off the water and then sending them back to restore service when the bill is paid. This can create a less-than-ideal situation by generating significant labor costs while having a potentially negative impact on vulnerable populations. Fortunately, there is a newer method available to address revenue capture while providing enhanced customer service by avoiding a turnoff.

92. Water-Sharing Experiment Suggests People Put Their Own Survival First 7/15/2019

    There’s been talk lately about empathy, its components and its general decline. A decline in empathy concerns me as an assistant professor in the University of Saskatchewan’s School of Environment and Sustainability: I study how people cope with water problems or learn to share scarce resources, like water, gas, oil, and energy.

93. 8 Ways To Make Utility-Customer Communication Seamless Across Digital Channels 7/1/2019

    If a water utility is going to use digital communication to enhance the customer experience, it needs to ensure that it does so as seamlessly as possible.

94. EPA Researchers Share Lessons Learned From Citizen Science Research Projects 5/21/2019

    Environmental Health Assessments (EHAs) are used to better understand the range of possible effects of environmental factors on a community’s health and wellbeing. These assessments are defined by EPA researchers as “methodical evaluations of air, water, and soil pollution impacts on human health and the environment.”

95. And I Quote: "To Know Water Is To Love Water" 3/21/2019

    It all started with Mark Twain. Or someone who actually wasn't Mark Twain after all.

96. The Journey Of Water — Lego Style 3/5/2019

    Remember when Legos were introduced as simple rectangular and square plastic bricks you used to build walls and towers?

97. Don't Let A Water Crisis Boil Over 3/1/2019

    No utility wants to issue a Boil Water Notice, but if it does happen, it’s important to get it right. Even if your utility has had a long, unblemished record of delivering high-quality water, a mishandled contamination event will leave a bad taste in your customers’ mouths (so to speak).

98. How The Low Price Of Water 'Causes' Water Scarcity 1/29/2019

    “How can a coastal city that is flanked by an almost endless bank of water have water scarcity problems?”

99. Winter. Water. What Are The Issues? 1/15/2019

    Rosy-cheeked children and romantic-eyed couples bundled up and laughing as they enjoy a skate around the frozen pond. It’s an iconic and idyllic vision every winter. But this fairytale-like scene “frosts over” significant issues faced by water companies and conservationists, not to mention homeowners and other types of service providers.

100. The Utility Built For A Millennial 11/8/2018

     According to population projections from the U.S. Census Bureau, millennials are expected to become the nation's largest living adult generation by 2019. 37 percent of millennials were homeowners in 2015 and this number continues to rise, making them a significant fraction of a utilities' customer base.