“Communications in Crisis Case Study, San Antonio Water System After 1994”

Abstract
In every endeavor there are times in crises when the responsible entity must mobilize its constituents to take action to help solve the problem that created the crisis. The expectation in most populations is to have safe water available at reasonable costs and adequate quantities. When a short-term or long-term situation arises that interrupts the flow of water it is a crisis. Crises occur regularly in the water business in the form of broken mains, contamination scares, and droughts. Water purveyors do best at mobilizing their constituents to meet the crisis if a communications plan exists and if a relationship has been developed in better times. Unfortunately, water professionals are usually better at offering engineering solutions than we are at communicating with our constituents when financial, political, and conservation actions are required.
This presentation will address how to develop the relationship and links necessary to have a foundation built so that, when the crisis arises, effective communications are possible to address the problem. It will also discuss how to use that foundation in a time of crisis.
The presentation is built on the experiences of the San Antonio Water System (SAWS). The crisis occurred when SAWS lost unlimited access to the Edwards Aquifer and had to seek support from a large number of constituencies to launch an expensive and controversial search for new water supplies. The author recognizes that, while water needs are universal, cultures, political systems, economies, and communications practices are very different. With the help of the attendees, differences will be identified between the SAWS experience and their situations but, despite the differences, it is believed the SAWS example of “Communications in Times of Crises” will be useful.
Among the topics covered will be media use, partnerships with water-dependent industry groups, use of environmentally aware volunteers, formalizing public input, and the importance of education. In the San Antonio situation, voluntary action was the keystone of meeting the crisis, but strong water use laws and enforcement were also important. Depending on the culture, enforcement may be a more or lesser factor.
A major part of any communications in crisis needs to be the plan to address the problem creating the crisis. In the case of SAWS, water conservation provided the short-term water supply increase and new water sources will provide the solution in the future. The plan to achieve the conservation savings and new water resources was an important part of the communications. This presentation will briefly cover the importance of a plan to solve the problem that created the crisis, the characteristics required of such a plan and the process to create the plan. The plan discussed in this presentation is a dynamic organism that changes as more input is collected and responses are recorded. The ideas of outcome measures, transparency, low-hanging fruit, cost benefit, and follow-up will also be covered as it relates to effective communication with various constituencies, including policy making officials.