MAYORS
Principle 4
Involve Your Community in Decision Making
Key Actions
Key Action 1
Increase transparency and build trust
Make information about lead service lines (LSL) and what you will do to address this issue accessible to all.
Transparency is key to successful lead service line replacement. Residents need to understand their risk, the plans to remove these lead pipes, and their role in the solution. Without their buy-in to replace private-side pipes, utilities cannot fully meet their goals.
Ensure LSL data is accessible and understandable
Ensure public-facing lead service line (LSL) data and information are accessible and easy to understand. Some ways you can increase transparency, access, and clarity are:
Press statements
Press statements and adopting a practice of proactively sharing information with the local press can help increase the visibility of your replacement efforts.
Social media campaigns
Social media campaigns can help reach a broader audience and raise awareness of the risks associated with lead in drinking water, as well as your lead service line replacement program.
Public education campaigns and door-knocking
Public education campaigns and door-knocking can build community trust in the program and increase participation rates by informing the public of your efforts to reduce lead in drinking water. Door-knocking, along with community members and local organizations, has been proven successful in urban and rural communities. These campaigns can help residents to:
- Understand the impacts of lead in drinking water and other legacy sources of lead, like leaded paint and contaminated soils
- Learn about how they can get a blood lead test
- Take appropriate steps to reduce possible lead exposure, for example, by learning how to use point-of-use filters appropriately
Interactive maps
Interactive maps showing where lead service lines are present are a powerful tool to make information readily accessible to residents. This information allows residents to:
- Better understand their risk of being exposed to lead in drinking water
- Make decisions when renting or purchasing a new home
- Advocate for utilities to take action and replace lead service lines
Note: If your community includes >50,000 people, the water utility was required to make address-specific information on the location of lead service lines publicly available in October 2024 under the Lead and Copper Rule Revisions.
Adopt local lead pipe disclosure laws
Require disclosure of lead service lines (LSL) at the time of home purchase or rental agreement. Cities and towns should require disclosure or confirmation that the service line is not made of lead during real estate and rental transactions to empower buyers and renters to make informed decisions and facilitate customer engagement.
Set clear project expectations for residents
Communicate program expectations and project timelines so residents are informed about the steps and activities involved in the process, and when these are anticipated to occur. This information could be summarized in visually appealing timelines or Gantt charts. Some key questions your residents will likely have include:
- If and when will the City Council or Town Board meet to discuss and vote on the program?
- How much has the city or town budgeted for this program?
- How long will their water be shut off and other services disrupted?
- How will excavation and construction activities impact their yard and landscaping, and how will it be restored?
- How frequently should they expect the utility to visit their home?
- Who is paying for the replacement?
- Will service line replacement eliminate the risk of lead?
Toolbox
LSL disclosure requirements
Key Action 2
Seek input from the community early and often
Community engagement is a critical element of any public health effort, including lead pipe replacement programs. Seeking input from your community early in the process will help you design an effective program that fits your community’s needs and avoids unintended negative impacts.
Treat the community as a decision-making partner
Consider the community a decision-making partner, and involve residents early in the process to build trust and learn about their needs and challenges. Some ways you can engage with the community include:
Contract with community-based organizations
Contract with community-based organizations to facilitate an authentic, holistic understanding of individual and collective needs and challenges, and reach those who are disproportionately impacted by lead exposure more effectively. Engaging the community with intention and thoughtfulness helps ensure all voices are heard and access to safe drinking water for all remains a cornerstone of the utility’s replacement program (see: Principle 6).
Create a community advisory committee
Create a community advisory committee to help you raise awareness of and participation in lead service line replacement programs. Committee members can help reach more people in more places, in their preferred language, and in a culturally responsive manner.
Communicate often and provide updates
Communicate often and provide updates about your plan to address the risks of lead service lines and program updates. Increased transparency on progress being made reassures residents and increases accountability.
Welcome community input and feedback
Listen to your community, and welcome input and feedback. Make space for your community to ask questions, raise concerns, and get the information they need to make decisions. Listening to your community will not only allow you to understand their needs and how to address them, but can also provide valuable information on what is and is not working in your program. You can also use this opportunity to show how your community’s input prompted program improvements.
Celebrate successes
Celebrate success with your community partners. Build a stronger relationship with community members, not only by sharing successes but also by acknowledging and demonstrating the value of their contributions throughout the process.
Toolbox
Community engagement strategies
Community advisory committees
Key Action 3
Employ effective and accessible outreach tailored to your community
Effectively informing residents on the extent of the problem in your community and your plan to address it is essential to gain trust and access to people’s homes to remove lead service lines. This may require adopting a variety of outreach strategies to ensure your message reaches residents of different ages and with diverse socioeconomic and ethnic backgrounds.
Be available to answer questions.
Be available to answer questions. Residents need to know where they can go to find the information and help they may need to build trust in your lead service line replacement program. Some resources you may consider are:
Websites
Websites to provide detailed information about your program and where LSLs are in your system.
Online portals
Online portals that enable customers to schedule appointments and sign consent forms to facilitate the replacement process.
Help desks or hotlines
Help desks or hotlines to answer customer questions, schedule appointments, and coordinate between customers and contractors.
Community liaisons and partners
Community liaisons and partners such as local public health departments, health professionals, and community-based organizations. Partnering with trusted organizations enables you to genuinely understand your community and more effectively improve your community’s health through prevention, education, intervention, and community engagement. These partners can help:
- Communicate the health impacts associated with lead exposure
- Educate residents on measures they can take to reduce their risk of lead exposure, including proper use of filters and when water should not be boiled (not an effective measure to remove lead)
- Answer questions related to lead exposure and your lead service line replacement program
Develop diverse and engaging outreach materials
Develop diverse and engaging outreach materials that can be distributed through various channels to increase information accessibility. Knowing your community’s demographics and where they tend to get information will help you develop the right tools. Ensuring that you keep your messaging short, simple, and clear can go a long way to increase community engagement. Some examples of outreach materials include:
- Door-to-door campaigning
- Door-hangers
- QR codes and flyers
- Websites, ensuring that they are optimized for tablet, computer, and mobile use
- Public outreach in spaces like schools, stores, and farmers markets
- Billboards
Make information accessible to all
Make information accessible to all. Ensure that all members in your community can fully understand your utility’s plan to replace service lines and what they should expect from it. You can do this by:
- Providing information in multiple languages if you have a larger makeup of residents who speak a language other than English.
- Providing information in ADA-compliant colors and fonts.
