2020 Water Data Prize: Improving Water Quality Communications
EPIC created the Water Data Prize to inspire new approaches to sharing information about water quality that help all consumers make informed decisions about whether their water is safe to drink —or not. With just a two-month window of the first prize, more than 30 organizations and individuals in the water sector submitted entries to the Water Data Prize, and an esteemed panel of judges reviewed the submissions looking for simple and effective ways to communicate about health data to as many people as possible.
Explore the site to learn more about easy, low-cost ideas to improve water quality communications and build trust in your community.
FIRST PLACE: RAFTELIS
Honorable Mentions
Recommendations from the 2020 Water Data Prize:
Translate complex information using simple graphics
Use plain language
Elevate local water quality concerns
Make information accessible
Encourage customer engagement
Innovate with emerging or established technologies
Ease implementation through low cost features
Events from the 2020 WDP
August 2, 2021: Our article on the poor accessibility of water utilities' consumer confidence reports (CCRs) based on an analysis of 270 nationally representative CCRs was published in Utilities Policy.
July 7, 2021: Op-ed for The Hill, The Confidence Crisis in our Water Can Be Fixed
April 7, 2021: WaterNow Alliance Workshop with Water Data Prize Winners
March 1, 2021: EPIC releases report on Re-envisioning Water Quality Reports
February 25, 2021: U.S. Water Alliance Blog, Reimagining the CCR: A Simple Way to Build Trust in Our Water
January 15, 2021: Water Data Prize 2020 winners announced, an archived video of the award ceremony can be watched here. Use password: qbf*9^5j
2020 WDP Judges
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Mariel Beasley
Principal - Center for Advanced Hindsight
Co-Founder - Common Cents Lab -
Tiffani Ashley Bell
Founder & Executive Director - The Human Utility
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Margaret Bowman
Program Director - Spring Point Partners
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Al Cho
Chief Strategy & Digital Officer - Xylem, Inc.
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Stephanie Corso
Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder - Rogue Water
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Martin Doyle
Professor - Duke University
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E. Joaquin Esquivel
Chair - State Water Resources Control Board
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Iris Gonzalez
Coalition Director - CEER Houston
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Leigh Greene
Director - Youngstown Office of Minority Health
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Katie Henderson
Senior Program Manager - US Water Alliance
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Jordan Macha
Executive Director & Waterkeeper - Bayou City Waterkeeper
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Nathan Ohle
Chief Executive Officer - Rural Community Assistance Partnership (RCAP)
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Alan Roberson
Executive Director - Association of State Drinking Water Administrators
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Lynn Thorp
National Campaigns Director - Clean Water Action
