- Total coliform perfect storm - incidents that could lead to a boil advisory - April 6, 2022
- Public notice to thousands - Special steps for large scale advisories - April 20, 2022
- What language do your customers communicate in? - Accomplishing public notification considering your community (today)
- Do you really want to sample a home for compliance? - Total coliform special sample stations (coming soon)
Both the Englewood boil advisory event in August, 2021 and the Marshall Fire that started on December 30, 2021 led to boil advisories affecting more than 25,000 people each. To read more about the Marshall Fire boil advisories, see our April 13, 2022 article.
In our April 20 article, we reviewed the reasons why the public may need to be warned not to drink the water and why that notice needs to go out quickly to thousands of people. The question we are exploring today further builds on that concept: “Do you know what language your customers communicate in?” If the water is potentially unsafe to drink, it is important to warn the public in a way that the people will understand. A key aspect in understanding is meeting the public on their terms, which also means in a language that can be easily and readily understood.
In the interest of public health and to achieve environmental justice, health equity, and climate justice for all communities, CDPHE recommends as a best practice that notifications to consumers are translated into the top two languages spoken in the community. There are multiple potential data sources for making this determination and more information can be found in this previous Aqua Talk Article.
The department will assist any water system with brainstorming ideas to better reach their respective communities. It is critical that public outreach occurs regularly before the emergency happens. Understanding your community and how to reach them begins with all outreach you do – from your consumer confidence reporting to your public outreach and public relations events. Even your water billing is a form of outreach.
In any community outreach efforts, following communication best practices is key. To make sure important information reaches your community, consider the following:
- Know your audience/community: what languages does your community speak? Can you get information translated into those languages? There are online resources (ArcGIS has a Living Atlas of the World, for example) that can help identify which languages are spoken in your community, but it is important to keep in mind that anecdotal and qualitative information is also valuable. Coordinating with local community groups (churches, schools, nonprofits) can be a great way to learn more about the languages and dialects spoken in your community.
- Have a communications plan: It can be stressful to complete public notification within the allotted time during an event – having a plan in place will help.
- Think about different communications channels. Consider using a variety of communication channels to reach the entire community. Social media platforms, text messaging, WhatsApp messaging, emails, billboards, and road signs are a few options to consider. Further, consider tracking where the outreach is taking place and sending staff to do door-to-door outreach in areas that may otherwise not receive the information.
- Consider hosting a mock emergency scenario: the department is available to participate in a mock emergency scenario to better understand how to best accomplish all of the above activities
Communicating with your community in the language they understand can be a powerful way to build trust and strengthen relationships. This can also help ensure that traditionally underserved communities receive important information that relates to their health.
➽ Tyson Ingels Lead Drinking Water Engineer
➽ Kaitlyn Beekman Communications and Special Projects Unit Manager
