Consumer Outreach Features, Insights, and Analysis

91. Preparing To Tackle The Hydra Of LCR Revisions 12/30/2019

    As a journalist serving the water industry — but not yet a seasoned technical veteran — I attended a recent Lead In Drinking Water Forum sponsored by AWWA NJ to learn about the challenges of complying with the proposed Lead and Copper Rule Revisions (LCRR). What I heard impressed upon me the technical, administrative, and logistical challenges of delivering safe, lead-free drinking water all the way to user taps. Here are my takeaways.

92. WWEMA Window: I Am Thankful For Water 12/3/2019

    Having recently celebrated the Thanksgiving holiday, it is an opportune time to step back, take a deep breath, and consider all that we have to be thankful for. Whether it is family, friends, health, pets, or opportunities, each of us has something for which we are grateful.

93. Utilities Can Use Digital Communication To Fix A Fractured Customer Experience: Here's How 10/2/2019

    For much of their history, utilities haven’t had to pay too much attention to customer experience (CX). The focus in many areas has tended to be on technologies that supported infrastructure and reduced operational costs.

94. 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.

95. 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.

96. 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.

97. 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.”

98. 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.

99. 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?

100. 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).