CONSUMER OUTREACH RESOURCES

• Denver Sets The Stage For Sweeping LSL Replacements, Partners With 120Water For Modern Sample Management

  Denver has been developing a comprehensive inventory of known and suspected lead service lines using a combination of property records, water quality tests, and visual inspections of service lines. With an estimated 64,000-84,000 properties that may have lead services lines, Denver decided to proactively begin a Lead Reduction Program to replace all customer-owned lead service lines with copper lines at no direct charge to the customer.

• Fort Wayne Collects & Tests More Than 900 Consumer Samples In 5 Months

  The City of Fort Wayne wanted to test 1000 locations to map high-lead neighborhoods for their LSLR program. However, they faced numerous challenges in the process: logistical problems in manually dropping off kits, low return rates, and the struggle to get opt-ins for the LSLR program - all on top of being understaffed. The biggest obstacle was relaying information and educating residents to get samples filled and returned properly.

• Newark Sets The Standard For Community Engagement And Education With Their New LSLR Program

  The City of Newark, NJ initiated a Lead Service Line Replacement program in 2018 as part of its efforts to provide clean, safe, and reliable drinking water for all residents. One of the biggest challenges faced by the city is engaging residents as the project gets underway. With a large transient population of renters, it can be hard to get residents and landlords to fully engage in a drinking water program. Not only can a lack of understanding on the part of the public jeopardize their health, it also makes it difficult for Newark to collect information needed to validate their LSLR program.

• Loveland Takes Guesswork Out Of LCR Requirements

  The City of Loveland’s Water Utility has served customers for decades, proudly bringing water “from snowy caps to Loveland taps.” When the Lead and Copper Rule went into effect in the early 1990s, it was labor-intensive to find a pool of people in the correct tier to complete the sampling.

• City Of Dyer Makes Meter Reading A Simpler Task, Benefitting Public Works And The Community

  For a city government that handles all aspects of the city’s business, finding areas to improve their efficiency is key. By selecting a metering system that combines consistent meter quality with a user-friendly, open-system approach, they get better technology for less investment and improve customer service for their residents.

• A World Reimagined — One Where People Realize The Value Of Water

  Times of significant disruption that put the “normal” way we operate on hold are an incredible opportunity for reflection, pressing the reset button, and starting in a fresh direction. Hopefully, many people are realizing how they have let their lives get so busy that they have lost touch with things most important to them, like family; and they are taking this time to start fresh.

• Many Water Utilities, One Message

  Across the nation, people are rising to the challenge presented by COVID-19. Water utilities and government agencies have focused on key messages about water, such as tap water is safe to drink and we’ll be there when you need us.

• Water Authority Uses Clamp-On Ultrasonic Flow Meters To Avoid Peak Limit Surcharges

  A suburban township in the upper Midwest United States buys their drinking water from a major municipal water district. The township’s water distribution system network has four connections to the larger municipality’s water transmission main. The municipality has many wholesale customers and has implemented contracts with each customer to limit the peak flows and the time of day in which they may occur. If a customer exceeds the limit, they are assessed significant surcharges.

• When It Comes To Water, Is Hindsight 20/20?

  Back in October 2018, when I started looking to the past to gather wisdom from what people have said about water through the ages, I figured when it comes to water, it’s 50/50 that hindsight is 20/20. So I needed a large sample size. I started collecting quotes from all sorts of people — scientists and screenwriters, poets and philosophers and politicians and pop singers — hoping to provide insight into water and the issues around it. (For more details on my journey, see last year’s World Water Day post.) Some of those quotes can even help us peek into the future.

• Domestic Water Use Grew 600% Over The Past 50 Years

  Humanity’s thirst for freshwater has more than doubled since the 1960s, keeping pace with growing populations and economies. One-quarter of the world now faces extremely high water stress, where more than 80 percent of the available supply is withdrawn every year.