Relevant program experience
Greeley Lead Service Line Program →
Janet Rummel’s utility communications experience includes lead service line program work and customer-facing public information.
Water Quality Communications
How to Explain a Lead Service Line Replacement Program to Your Community
A plain-language communications approach for utilities explaining lead service line replacement, property access, customer responsibility, and program timelines.
The short answer
Lead service line replacement is a public-health program that reaches directly into homes, businesses, property records, and family routines. The communication challenge is not simply distributing a notice; it is helping each customer understand what the program means for their address and what action, if any, they need to take.
A credible program separates what is known from what is still being verified, explains the replacement process in plain language, and gives customers a dependable path for questions about access, service interruption, and follow-up.
Step 1
Make the message address-specific
Customers need more than a broad program announcement. They need to know whether their property is affected, why the utility is contacting them, what the next step is, and how to get a clear answer if records are incomplete. Build the communications system around that customer journey.
Use consistent terms for public-side and private-side work, explain what the utility can confirm, and avoid language that makes uncertainty sound evasive. When records require verification, say so directly and explain how verification will occur.
Step 2
Explain the work before crews arrive
Replacement work can involve property access, temporary service interruption, restoration questions, and decisions customers may need to make. Give a clear pre-construction sequence: notification, scheduling, access expectations, work-day impacts, restoration, and post-work guidance.
A simple visual timeline, short videos, translated materials where needed, and a customer-service script can reduce avoidable anxiety. The test is whether a resident can explain the next step to a neighbor without reading a technical manual.
Step 3
Prepare for the questions behind the question
A question about an appointment may really be a question about safety, cost, property damage, landlord coordination, or whether the utility is treating one neighborhood differently from another. Train customer-facing staff to recognize those underlying concerns and route them correctly.
Community partners can help close gaps, especially when residents have limited access to digital information or have reason to distrust a formal notice. The role of a partner is to help people get reliable information, not to deliver a utility script.
Step 4
Report progress in a way the public can use
Program dashboards and progress reports should show more than aggregate replacement counts. They should tell customers what phase is underway, where work is occurring, how scheduling works, and what residents should expect next.
Ongoing communication demonstrates that the program is managed, not merely announced. It also helps the utility identify recurring questions that should change the next round of materials or outreach.
Relevant proof
See how these decisions play out in practice.
Water-quality response
Security Water District →
A case example showing the importance of direct, usable customer information during a water-quality concern.
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Related practical guides
Boil Water Notice Communications: What Customers Need to Know First
A practical communications framework for utilities issuing, updating, and lifting a boil water notice with clear public-health guidance and coordinated customer information.
How to Communicate a Water Rate Increase Without Losing Public Trust
A practical communications framework for utilities preparing to explain a water rate increase, connect it to capital needs, and keep the conversation credible.
Common questions
Questions leaders ask before the public asks them.
What should the first customer notice explain?
Why the customer is receiving it, what is known about the service line, whether action is required now, how records will be verified if needed, and how to speak with someone who can answer property-specific questions.
How can utilities reach renters as well as property owners?
Plan separate outreach paths for owners, tenants, property managers, and community organizations. Each group may need different information about access, scheduling, and responsibility.
What if a customer does not trust the utility’s records?
Acknowledge the concern, explain what the record indicates and how it was developed, and give the customer a clear path to verification or follow-up. Avoid arguing about incomplete records.
Should replacement information be translated?
Provide materials and live support in the languages used by the affected community. Translation should cover more than the first notice; it should extend to scheduling, work-day, and follow-up information.
If a lead service line program needs clearer public information, begin with the customer journey—not the regulatory notice—and build every communication around it.
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