Environmental Science & Engineering - www.esemag.com - November 2004
Comments? send them to the editor.
Selling the value of water
By Herschel Guttman, P.Eng.
R.V. Anderson Associates Ltd.
Giving consultants 500 words to
say whatever they want seems
like giving them the keys to the
kingdom. However, rather than
using this soapbox for consulting engineering,
I would rather use it to talk to
consultants’ municipal clients directly
about educating their customers on drinking
water issues.
If you work for a municipality that regularly
communicates effectively with
your customers on drinking water issues,
that talks to service clubs, the youth, the
professions, and the media in your community,
and that trains all your staff to do
so, including the water main repair crew and the accounts
clerk, then read no further.
For the rest of you, ask yourselves this question: What is
the single major impediment to the provision of safe, sufficient
and sustainable drinking water in your community?
The answer is the same for every town and city. Simply put,
the rates for drinking water are much too low. Rates are too
low because the political
will is not there
to raise rates. Given
that most politicians
respond best to the
will of the voters,
leads one to conclude
that there is also
insufficient public
support for higher
sustainable rates.
As Deep Throat
said in the movie All
the President’s Men:
“Follow the money”.
The trail starts with
your customers who
are your primary
source of funding.
The politicians will ultimately obey the will of the people.
Therefore you need to get public support first, and the
politicians will follow.
The message you need to communicate to the public is
about the value of a safe reliable water supply to your community.
Indeed, its public health and safety aspects need to
be stressed as being akin to access to good medical care.
Your customers need to know that water is not free. It
takes money to protect water supply sources from pollution.
It takes money to treat water to make it safe to drink. It takes
money both for maintaining and investing in water mains
and their renewal. This is money that your customers should
demand to pay, for the price of a safe water supply and public
health peace of mind. Indeed, I have often told service
clubs that they “should demand that rates double for their
own public health protection”.
Public education and communication efforts need to be
carried out every year all year. This should start with promoting
a utility culture that educates its
own staff on the value of water, and trains
them to communicate those values to
everyone they interact with in their lives.
It should continue with an organized
plan to communicate with every citizen
group within your customer base.
Industrial and commercial customers
need to know what it takes to provide day
in day out reliable water supplies and fire
protection. Service clubs like Rotary or
Lions are not only influential in the community,
but are always looking for speakers.
Students are eager to learn about
environmental issues, and they also represent
your future customer base. When you run out of those
groups, consider the professions and emergency response
services, or even public advocacy groups. Finally, do not
forget to educate the local media on water issues, before
you have a crisis.
The bottom line is: If you want the funds to do your job
well, you need to get out there and sell the value of a safe
reliable water supply directly to your customers, face-toface.
Sustainable water rates are bound to follow in time.
Contact e-mail: hguttman@rvanderson.com.
See our home page on how to order your subscription. We regret we can
only accept orders from Canada.
