To help utilities comply with the new Lead and Copper Rule, tap infrastructure bill funding and meet the many public communication challenges in store, 120Water has announced free planning sessions, while WaterPIO and WaterComm.Co have launched a new platform for communications compliance called LeadCopperRule.com.

Planning sessions

120Water — the nation’s leading solutions provider for managing lead programs — is now offering complimentary, individualized planning assistance for water utilities looking to understand the final ruling and assess their readiness to comply with the Lead and Copper Rule Revisions (LCRR) that went into effect on Dec. 16.

The LCRR creates challenges for water systems of all sizes, especially those serving underprivileged communities, including requirements to inventory all public and private lead service lines in the system and to begin testing at schools and daycares for the presence of lead in drinking water.

As the leading solutions provider for managing lead programs across the country, 120Water has worked with more than 250 systems across the United States on water programs impacting over 15 million lives.

In an effort to share best practices and arm water professionals with critical actions necessary to comply with LCRR by Oct. 16, 2024, 120Water will conduct free, 30-minute planning sessions through Jan. 31, 2022. These individualized sessions will also include answering questions about how the latest rule will impact a specific system. Water systems will receive a self-assessment questionnaire to complete in advance of the meeting to help focus the discussion.

Water systems can reserve their planning session using this link.

The LCRR marks the largest changes in 30 years to the Lead and Copper Rule. A recent study by 120Water shows that most water systems are unprepared to comply with the ruling, and may not have the groundwork in place to apply for funding through the $1.2 trillion Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act that became law in November.

“The Revised Lead and Copper Rule (LCRR) is the most complex drinking water regulation water professionals must comply with,” says Megan Glover, CEO of 120Water. “120Water has been in the trenches working with customers who have set the early playbooks that all utilities can now follow in order to meet the compliance needs of LCRR and secure funding. We are pleased to share those playbooks and our expertise with all utilities looking for additional know-how to meet the new demands of LCRR.”

LeadCopperRule.com launched

The challenges created by the LCRR are not only tied to compliance, but also to the variety of sensitive communication efforts that water providers must conduct to assure the public that their drinking water is safe. If their communication efforts fail, the utilities risk losing their reputations.

The new LCR requirements will overwhelm the thousands of water utilities that are ill-prepared to take on the communication efforts that will be necessary, either due to a lack of staff or a lack of expertise in handling multi-stage public information campaigns. 

To help utilities of all sizes nationwide, leading water industry-focused public relations firms WaterPIO and WaterComm.Co have launched a new platform for Lead and Copper Rule communications compliance called LeadCopperRule.com.

Findings under the new Lead and Copper Rule will shake public confidence in the nation's drinking water. LeadCopperRule.com aims to supply water providers with everything they need to communicate successfully under the new LCR. Its turnkey packages provide internal and external communication plans and products ready to help utilities preserve public trust in its water.

In addition to 24/7 crisis communication services, LeadCopperRule.com's plans, products and consulting expertise will enable water providers to:

• Properly explain the LCR's new testing processes to ensure customers correctly take their water samples;

• Proactively inform the press, social media, elected officials and community leaders about lead service line inventory efforts, protecting utilities from angry pushback at the very start of what could be a three-year-long process;

• Respectfully communicate lead testing in schools and childcare facilities so that parents feel fully engaged and informed from the very start; and

• Instantly release perspective-providing emergency notification materials when a utility must alert its customers to a systemwide exceedance in just 24 hours.

"As water-related communication mandates continue to roll out over the next several years, it will be imperative for utilities and local governments to communicate proactively about lead to avoid creating fear," says Eboni Green of LeadCopperRule.Com. "Our platform provides ready-to-use solutions for water providers of all sizes so they can communicate with confidence under the new LCR."

"For decades, water providers didn't communicate about their lead and copper efforts because they wanted to avoid talking about such a sensitive subject. Now, they don't have a choice," says Mike McGill, also of LeadCopperRule.com. "Utilities must change their mindsets and become proactive about their lead communications, even if that thought fills them with fear. This is where we come in; LeadCopperRule.com puts water providers in a position to succeed for years to come."