guidelines
Background
Consumer Confidence Reports were mandated as part of the Safe Drinking Water Act through the National Primary Drinking Water Regulation in 1998. Each year, water utilities are required to share a report with their customers with information about water quality, contaminants, violations, and health information for higher-risk populations. While these reports contain important data, they are considered a burdensome regulatory exercise by most utilities, which often outsource their design to consultants. Most utilities test water and share results only to the extent needed to meet regulatory compliance.
Typically, a report might provide information on contaminant levels of chemical compounds like chlorine, lead, uranium, and arsenic;water turbidity; and data on odor, pH, and other attributes that might affect consumers’ health or perceptions of drinkability. See examples from Los Angeles, Tulsa (OK), Flint (MI), Cairo (IL), or Rutland (VT).
Due to EPA requirements and the technical nature of the data, they are usually written in highly complex language with little work to "translate" the documents for the average American. Studies by researchers at Virginia Tech have found that CCRs do not share information effectively. This is exacerbated by accessibility challenges for non-English speakers or the disabled. Furthermore, most utilities don’t use social media, behavioral economic principles, nudges, or similar tools to get this information to consumers.
Best practices guides issued by EPA and the American Water Works Association (AWWA) are largely aspirational for most utilities. The EPA's suggestions are largely visual in nature but could evolve to modern design practices optimized for web delivery. The AWWA best practices recommendations are generally focused on compliance with delivery regulations and the "good faith" clause for delivery attempts. There is significant room for improvement in adopting accessibility and usability standards from modern design practices. Currently, most utilities employ one of four main methods for designing their report: the EPA's iWriter tool, a state template tool similar to EPA’s, utilize an association to develop it on their behalf, or create it in-house. A select few utilities with larger budgets may employ a strategic communications firm to develop their CCR, but this is uncommon.
Expert interviews and a review of the literature indicate that the reports are not widely read. A study by researchers at AWWA found that it is uncommon for utilities to directly track consumer understanding of the report. The critical language within the CCR, including the table with contaminant test results and health effects language, is specifically mandated by the EPA but an analysis found it to be not easily understood by most people. Federal guidance is focused largely on compliance rather than readability. In short, the need for easily standardized, widely adopted, and well-understood reports is high.
Prize
We anticipate at least one $5,000 prize and another $10,000 in prizes for a few other stand-out submissions.
Our intent is to share the best submissions with the Environmental Protection Agency, state water regulators, interested water utilities, consumer advocacy groups, and trade associations. We hope that the results from the challenge will motivate change in at least some reports and we will push to make that happen after the competition is over by working with interested utilities.
Timeline
Open to submissions September 15, 2020
Webinar for applicants September 29, 2020 @ 2pm ET (View recording of webinar)
Submission deadline December 1, 2020 @ 5pm ET
Winners Announced January 5, 2021
Judging Criteria
Submissions will be judged by an expert panel along the following criteria:
We encourage the use of open-source tools to design your CCR, but understand the limitations and will not penalize the use of proprietary softwares and tools. Submissions can include but are not limited to websites, interactive online tools, slide decks, or .pdf or other purely visual or static submissions.
Rules and Eligibility
The Prize is open to anyone age 18 or older participating as an individual or as a team. Teams must have at least one US-based member and be able to provide an EIN or SSN if your intent is to be eligible for one of the awards. Submissions must be primarily made in English, but may additionally be in other languages.
No specific qualifications or prior expertise is required. Prize organizers encourage individuals and non-expert teams to compete and propose new solutions.
Submissions must be made online (only), via upload to the website, on or before 5:00pm ET on December 1, 2020. More information on the submission process will be made available to applicants.
Intellectual Property Rights
Prize winners will retain all intellectual property rights, i.e., software, source code, marks, methodology, techniques, expression and grant EPIC a license to share the visual and interactive elements of the submission with utilities, state and federal agencies, and other interested stakeholders via webinars, reports, media communications, and other means of outreach and dissemination.
Consumer Confidence Reports were mandated as part of the Safe Drinking Water Act through the National Primary Drinking Water Regulation in 1998. Each year, water utilities are required to share a report with their customers with information about water quality, contaminants, violations, and health information for higher-risk populations. While these reports contain important data, they are considered a burdensome regulatory exercise by most utilities, which often outsource their design to consultants. Most utilities test water and share results only to the extent needed to meet regulatory compliance.
Typically, a report might provide information on contaminant levels of chemical compounds like chlorine, lead, uranium, and arsenic;water turbidity; and data on odor, pH, and other attributes that might affect consumers’ health or perceptions of drinkability. See examples from Los Angeles, Tulsa (OK), Flint (MI), Cairo (IL), or Rutland (VT).
Due to EPA requirements and the technical nature of the data, they are usually written in highly complex language with little work to "translate" the documents for the average American. Studies by researchers at Virginia Tech have found that CCRs do not share information effectively. This is exacerbated by accessibility challenges for non-English speakers or the disabled. Furthermore, most utilities don’t use social media, behavioral economic principles, nudges, or similar tools to get this information to consumers.
Best practices guides issued by EPA and the American Water Works Association (AWWA) are largely aspirational for most utilities. The EPA's suggestions are largely visual in nature but could evolve to modern design practices optimized for web delivery. The AWWA best practices recommendations are generally focused on compliance with delivery regulations and the "good faith" clause for delivery attempts. There is significant room for improvement in adopting accessibility and usability standards from modern design practices. Currently, most utilities employ one of four main methods for designing their report: the EPA's iWriter tool, a state template tool similar to EPA’s, utilize an association to develop it on their behalf, or create it in-house. A select few utilities with larger budgets may employ a strategic communications firm to develop their CCR, but this is uncommon.
Expert interviews and a review of the literature indicate that the reports are not widely read. A study by researchers at AWWA found that it is uncommon for utilities to directly track consumer understanding of the report. The critical language within the CCR, including the table with contaminant test results and health effects language, is specifically mandated by the EPA but an analysis found it to be not easily understood by most people. Federal guidance is focused largely on compliance rather than readability. In short, the need for easily standardized, widely adopted, and well-understood reports is high.
Prize
We anticipate at least one $5,000 prize and another $10,000 in prizes for a few other stand-out submissions.
Our intent is to share the best submissions with the Environmental Protection Agency, state water regulators, interested water utilities, consumer advocacy groups, and trade associations. We hope that the results from the challenge will motivate change in at least some reports and we will push to make that happen after the competition is over by working with interested utilities.
Timeline
Open to submissions September 15, 2020
Webinar for applicants September 29, 2020 @ 2pm ET (View recording of webinar)
Submission deadline December 1, 2020 @ 5pm ET
Winners Announced January 5, 2021
Judging Criteria
Submissions will be judged by an expert panel along the following criteria:
- Health: how does the submission make it easy for the average person to understand the data on water contaminants.
- Priorities: creative ways in which the submission makes information on the most important contaminants stand out.
- Degree of Accessibility: submission promotes accessibility, ADA compliance, and multiple languages.
- Level of Engagement: submission incorporates design features that invite customers to learn more and engage with the data.
- Innovation: submission uses an emerging technology or an established technology used in a novel way.
- Wowza: submission that offers most dramatic improvement compared to a utility’s current CCR in the likelihood a consumer understands whether drinking water is safe.
- Ease of Implementation: submission incorporates design features or technology that could be easily adopted by utilities at a low cost.
- Adherence to EPA Standards: submission must include the eight elements that must be included in a CCR per EPA regulations and best practices.
We encourage the use of open-source tools to design your CCR, but understand the limitations and will not penalize the use of proprietary softwares and tools. Submissions can include but are not limited to websites, interactive online tools, slide decks, or .pdf or other purely visual or static submissions.
Rules and Eligibility
The Prize is open to anyone age 18 or older participating as an individual or as a team. Teams must have at least one US-based member and be able to provide an EIN or SSN if your intent is to be eligible for one of the awards. Submissions must be primarily made in English, but may additionally be in other languages.
No specific qualifications or prior expertise is required. Prize organizers encourage individuals and non-expert teams to compete and propose new solutions.
Submissions must be made online (only), via upload to the website, on or before 5:00pm ET on December 1, 2020. More information on the submission process will be made available to applicants.
Intellectual Property Rights
Prize winners will retain all intellectual property rights, i.e., software, source code, marks, methodology, techniques, expression and grant EPIC a license to share the visual and interactive elements of the submission with utilities, state and federal agencies, and other interested stakeholders via webinars, reports, media communications, and other means of outreach and dissemination.
