“All of the Above:” Moving from a Passive to an Active Stakeholder Engagement Culture

Over the past ten years, news searches for the Mobile Area Water and Sewer System (MAWSS) would turn up results related to wet weather overflows and public health notices. With new leadership and an engaged Board of Directors, MAWSS has begun to turn towards a more proactive stakeholder engagement process. Serving the wettest city in the United States, MAWSS also faces many of the same aging infrastructure challenges as other older U.S. cities. In order to better communicate the value of services it provides, along with seeking out more actionable customer feedback, the utility has begun a number of initiatives, including:Web videos highlighting not only the challenges of aging infrastructure, but also the face of MAWSS employees as members of the community they serveRebranded micro-site, promotional materials, and dedicated artwork to support educating the public on infrastructure needs and the value of waterProject GIS maps showing the work in progress to address wet weather issues and renewal of aging infrastructureAffordability analysis as part of a long-term funding plan to increase and target investment in critical portions of the MAWSS systemEngagement of the community through a speaker’s bureau and participation in community eventsPaid advertisingMAWSS is essentially revamping its approach to customer relations: more hands-on, recognizable campaigns to educate the people and community it is responsible for serving. Through websites, social media efforts, paid advertising, and MAWSS-sponsored community events, it demonstrates the importance of public knowledge and comfort with the community’s water and wastewater service provider.By emphasizing infrastructure needs and the value of water to its customers, MAWSS makes a connection between the rates customers pay for water and sewer service and the benefits customers receive. For example, MAWSS is updating its ratepayer assistance program to address the needs of customers with financial challenges. The affordability analysis completed as part of MAWSS’ comprehensive rate study evaluated the financial impact of annual water and sewer bills on residential customers. The analysis provided detailed information on total water and sewer bills as a function of household income for each census tract in MAWSS’ service area. Current and projected rate increases were applied to determine the impact of proposed changes in rates. MAWSS used the analysis to identify neighborhoods that may be more at risk for affordability issues and therefore in need of rate assistance.This presentation will share lessons learned to date, discuss how smaller utilities like MAWSS can develop these capabilities with limited staff, identify benefits to both the utility and its customers, and share both quantitative and qualitative results from the effort. Many of these initiatives will have been completed at the time of the presentation. Each initiative furthers MAWSS’ stakeholder engagement process and communicates the value of its services to its ratepayers.