Steve Wilson posted on December 22, 2009 07:35
Why Is A Website For Consumers Important?
We all have heard about the likely operator shortage around the country, and some areas may already be seeing some of those issues happening now. There are a number of issues that factor into this problem, and a big one is the public's perception/understanding of their water system. We can just about universally agree that, in general, the public takes their water supply for granted, which means they are likely taking their water operator for granted as well.
More Than Public Awareness
Taking you for granted would be tolerable, if thats all that it was. But, residents in small communities, especially those rural communities that have "always done things the same way", they've "never had problems with their water before", and feel like "there is no reason to raise water rates" need to understand whats really going on. There are serious funding shortages, and operator pay has not kept up with the increasing responsibilities operators have today. Some small communities are going to find out too late that they can't afford an operator anymore because there are larger systems that can offer better pay, benefits, and support. For some communities, that's what its going to take unfortunately, but hopefully for others, increasing awareness will lead to positive changes.
What They Don't Understand Is:
- Things haven't always been done the same way, you've just adapted to the new regs and rules as they have come along and dealt with it.
- There have been problems before, they've just been taken care of.
- Water rates have been too low for a long time, and now with new rules, more reporting requirements, and systems are getting older, communities must prepare and be willing to plan for the future now.
What Can We Do About It?
Inform your customers. Educate them about the costs and work that goes into providing safe water in your communities. Ask your Technical Assistance providers and Operator Associations for information you can send out and examples of what can happen when communities don't take care of their water system and operator, as well as examples of those that do.
Here's A Place To Start
The USEPA website for consumers can be found here.
You can also search our website to find materials to share with your consumers, or direct consumers directly to the site. Searching the document database using "category=consumer information" and typing "public" in the keyword filter will turn up a number of good factsheets and helpful information from the USEPA and a number of other organizations that you can share with your customers.
So Why Should We Make Work For Ourselves?
Because public perception is a tough nut to crack. It's going to take all of us, operators, community leaders, TA providers, and regulators, all working together, to change attitudes and peoples appreciation for their drinking water.