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Communicating with customers is one of the most important functions that managers of water/wastewater treatment systems have, but not many have the time to research and write articles as one way of reaching out to the public. If you need a way to help your customers understand the services your drinking water or wastewater system provides or perhaps help in educating new board members in their duties, the Rural Community Assistance Partnership (RCAP) has publications that can aid you with these tasks.

“The Water We Drink” campaign is a joint effort by RCAP and the National Environmental Services Center (NESC) to provide information and increase awareness about crucial water issues. The campaign is aimed especially at rural and small-community decision-makers and water and wastewater board members. This project offers free articles and educational resources about maintaining safe, sustainable, and secure water supplies in small and rural communities.  The Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) provided grant funding to assist small drinking water/wastewater treatment managers in communicating with their customers. 

These products are available to download for free for educational and nonprofit use. They are specifically meant to be reprinted in your system’s newsletter or magazine, distributed via email or the Web, or used in training, meetings, or presentations. The articles may be found at www.nesc.wvu.edu/waterwedrink/articles.cfm. 

Protecting Source Water = Cash Savings!

• “Save the Source, Save Some Money” discusses the ways that poorly maintained decentralized wastewater treatment systems—including septic systems and private or onsite sewage systems—affect public health, drinking water systems and the environment. It points out several ways that owners of decentralized systems can prevent and maintain these systems to protect their drinking water source. The article also talks about the need for consumer education and links the cost of treating the problems caused by this contamination to the cost of providing drinking water service in a way that consumers can readily understand. This article is directed toward community leaders and system managers but may also be used to educate customers on the importance of maintaining their septic systems.
• Specific contaminants are discussed in “Drugs in Our Waterways: What Can Community Leaders Do to Slow the Flow?” Pharmaceutical and personal-care products (PPCPs) are not removed from wastewater by conventional treatment techniques and must be properly disposed of to prevent environmental contamination. This article’s main focus is on consumer education, raising awareness of this issue and encouraging water users to discard their drugs in an environmentally conscious manner. It also discusses ways that community leaders can help with this effort.
• A related article is “Plan to Protect Drinking Water: Why Are Source Water Protection Plans Important?” This article encourages people to understand that whatever substance goes into a drain, runs off streets, or is buried underground can affect their drinking water. It gives a great overview of point-source and non-point-source pollution in clear terms, and discusses how source water protection plans (SWPPs) can positively affect public health, economic growth, and environmental protection.

Managerial Advice

• A capital-improvements plan is a road map to the future – where you want to go and how you plan to get there. It may be the single biggest step in moving a small system from a reactive, crisis-management mode into a planned, “I meant to do that” mode. “Road Map to the Future: Capital Improvements Planning for Small Water Systems” is a step-by-step guide to help board members with their system’s capital-improvements planning by explaining how to prioritize projects, find project financing and plan individual projects.
• Related to this, “Managing Aging Water Infrastructure Assets: Planning Ahead Saves Time and Money” discusses the need to plan for infrastructure repair and replacement and encourages managers to develop and use an asset-management plan to avoid catastrophic failure in their systems. Asset management involves gathering key information to determine: 1) what you have, 2) where it is, 3) what condition it’s in, and 4) how long you can expect it to last. You can then use this information to make timely maintenance, repair, rehabilitation, replacement, capital-improvement, rate-setting, financial planning and other decisions.
• “Planning Ahead Improves Water and Wastewater Services” ties the planning process to all aspects of providing water and wastewater services, emphasizes the need for knowing the financial condition of your system (where money comes from, what it’s used for, and whether the system is funding its own operation), and coming up with a map that describes where the system is now and where it wants to be in the future. It emphasizes the preservation of public health; cost savings; strategic importance of preventive, emergency-response, or long-term adaptation measures; and ability to finance repairs/replacement that planning ahead provides.
• “Setting Water and Sewer Rates to Sustain These Essential Services” provides perspective on water and sewer rates in small systems, gives advice on how to assess whether your rates are covering your costs, and details several different types of rate structures. It also promotes communication with customers, far in advance of any rate increases.
• “Are You Prepared to Handle Labor Shortages in Your Water Utilities?” describes the necessity of planning ahead for operator/manager retirement and for recruiting new employees. It details several ways of retaining the employees your system already has and gives advice on capturing institutional knowledge – knowledge that comes from experience actually working with the equipment and treatment systems your facility uses.
• “Utilities Help Each Other During Emergencies: Have Your Water and Wastewater Systems Signed Up?” encourages emergency planning and promotes WARN, the Water/Wastewater Agency Response Network. The article talks about the importance of establishing mutual aid and assistance agreements before disaster strikes and the economic benefits of ensuring continuous service.
• “Water and Energy: An Uncertain Future, A Monumental Challenge” discusses the interdependence of water and energy production. This article talks about which forms of “clean” energy are the most water-dependent, the importance of water conservation, and planning for a future in which the provision of clean water and the provision of energy needs will become a balancing act.

How Can I Use These Publications?

The Water We Drink should be used as a clearinghouse for information, which is ready to use in your system. You may post the articles on your website or print them and post them at community centers or libraries. If you find that new board members could use training on these topics, RCAP is able to provide it. Many of the articles described here have press packages already created and ready to distribute to your local paper, radio or TV station.

Additional Resources
NESC/RCAP articles
www.nesc.wvu.edu/waterwedrink/articles.cfm