INDIANAPOLIS -- 120Water, a comprehensive digital water platform in use at more than 180,000 sample sites across the nation, and WaterPIO, a company dedicated to affordably assisting water and wastewater utilities across the country with their public communication needs, have partnered to provide public water systems the operational and communications management services they need to comply with the EPA’s soon-to-be-released revisions to the Lead and Copper Rule (LCR).
The revised LCR is expected to place significant strain on resource-strapped public water systems. Likely to be included is a new communications requirement to notify customers within 24 hours of when a utility is informed about elevated levels of lead in its drinking water. The Rule will also require that water systems transparently make current lead service line inventories available to the public.
“This partnership will help already overburdened water professionals stay compliant with upcoming EPA regulations,” said Megan Glover, CEO of 120Water. “Together we can lighten the operational load for these entities, while providing better and more timely communications to residents.”
120Water helps public water systems maintain compliance by simplifying and modernizing drinking water programs, including the Lead and Copper Rule. The company’s end-to-end solution automates the sending and tracking of sample test kits, unifies all related data—including customer information, service lines, and water quality results—and provides out-of-the-box communications, reports, and dashboards. For example, the 120Water Public Transparency Dashboard ensures public water systems keep up with the requirement to communicate a comprehensive, publicly available inventory of all known lead lines.
WaterPIO provides award-winning, proactive and crisis communications services to water and wastewater utilities nationwide based on more than 60 years of water industry and newsroom experience. Found at WaterPIO.com, the company strengthens utility relationships with their customers, key stakeholders, elected officials, and the news media for a fraction of the cost of staff time or additional personnel.
Any LCR software purchased from 120Water will include WaterPIO communications templates, including result letters and exceedance notifications to the press and the public that can be used automatically, enabling utilities to comply with the revised LCR’s 24 hour exceedance notification requirement. WaterPIO will also offer additional services, including proactive Lead & Copper Rule communications plans and “Always On Call” 24/7 crisis communications support.
“One thing we know about the revised LCR is that it will create public communication challenges for water utilities of all sizes all over the country,” said Mike McGill, President of WaterPIO. “Fortunately, we have proof that proper communications planning and outreach ahead of exceedances and lead line replacement efforts put water utilities in a position to succeed; they can even grow public trust in their services.”
The combined strength of 120Water and WaterPIO will provide public water systems with all-important confidence that they will be able to communicate with customers quickly, clearly, and with important perspective, while staying fully compliant with the EPA’s new requirements.
