On October 27, 2022, the Communications and Outreach Committee held its annual communications camp in Tigard, Oregon. The camp is a one-day specialty conference focused on communications skills. This year’s event was a big success, with 19 people in attendance and a mix of virtual and in-person presenters.

Presentations included these:

• An interactive quiz from Loralyn Spiro of Metropolitan Wastewater Management Commission that tested attendees on how well they knew water trivia.
• Kathy Nguyen from Cobb County Water System in Georgia talked about building a successful customer service team at her water and wastewater utility and sustaining that team through the pandemic. Kathy made the point that customer service staff, while often overlooked, are an excellent resource for outreach to the community, since they have so many regular interactions with customers.
• Jadene Stensland and Chris White from Clean Water Services discussed a recent project that replaced a sanitary sewer running through a beloved local nature park. To assist in communicating with the public, the team built a virtual reality tool that allowed visitors to the project website to view key areas in the park during and after construction. View the website here.
• Rachel Garrett from Brown and Caldwell and Lynn Knapp from Cascadia Consulting Group presented their work on motivating behavior change through community-based social marketing. Their project focused on reducing use of “flushable” wipes in college housing in Seattle. Using a variety of outreach tools, including in-person interactions and social media advertising, they were able to evolve their communications and achieve significant reduction in wipe usage.
• Edher Estrada from Clean Water Services led a tour of the Durham Water Resource Recovery Facility, where the communications camp was held. The facility employs a variety of innovative technologies, including use of captured methane gas for electricity generation and an advanced nutrient recovery system that captures and converts phosphorus into commercially useful fertilizer.
• Shelly Parini and Todd Loggan from Clackamas Water Environment Services (WES) discussed executing a community engagement program called Clean Water Exchange. They gathered and used data from WES customers and stakeholders through interviews, focus groups, a survey, and an engagement website to improve understanding of WES services, build community connections. They also created new communication tools for outreach to school children in the WES service area.
• Ely O’Connor from Clean Water Services and Andrew Felton from Tualatin Soil and Water Conservation District presented on their organizations’ joint effort to create the Watershed Navigator website, which aggregates information for Washington County residents on a wide variety of environmental topics, like urban farming or stormwater permitting, and where to access services available through local agencies.

Proceeds from the communications camp go towards PNCWA’s Adopt-a-School grant program, which funds K-12 educational projects focused on water and the environment. If you know an educator, let them know we’re accepting applications now for 2023 funding at https://www.pncwa.org/adopt-a-school-program!