Principles for community engagement
When talking about alternative water sources, it is important to be honest and transparent and to avoid emotive language, other than stimulating a sense of shared responsibility for water.
Good engagement is broad, deep, starts early, and follows these principles:
Engage with the community early, concisely, and often. Be proactive and persistent. Consistency, momentum and clarity changes perceptions. Use an overarching campaign which drip-feeds content so that it is constant in the background.
Be as open as possible to help the public understand the current state, the potential changes, the utility’s role, and the individual’s role. Tell them all you can in an understandable way and allow the community to identify the aspects of most interest or concern to them. Test proposals with customers throughout the process as options are further developed and refined.
Trust is essential for major programs to succeed. Customer engagement should be objective, representative, proportionate, meaningful, clear and accurate. Publish reports on the process and outcomes of the customer engagement.
Getting started
Understanding your customer base and community stakeholders is key to planning your communications and engagement. A utility should understand its customers’ water supply needs, values and preferences. When you understand these things, you will be able to develop a communications and engagement plan showing how you will consult them about alternative water sources.
Communication tools
The community’s understanding of water management varies. Higher water literacy is often associated with segments of our population who are older, who have higher incomes and education levels, who have lived for a longer time in Australia and who are English speaking. Targeting people who speak languages other than English, who have lower incomes and education levels, and who are younger may therefore improve water literacy. A communications and engagement strategy can be designed to reach all audiences.
Utilities can engage their communities with tools such as:
- grassroots education and face-to-face engagement
- online content (websites)
- social media (Facebook, X, Instagram)
- media (electronic, print, broadcast)
- events
- participatory processes such as citizen juries
- publications
- correspondence (email, bills, letters)
- education through third parties (for example, local environmental groups such as Landcare).
Key messages
While local stories vary, they contribute to the state-wide dialogue about how alternative water sources are part of providing a sustainable and resilient water supply. It’s important to be consistent while capturing the differences in individual systems without getting too technical.
We have developed a glossary of commonly used urban water terms to help water utilities overcome resource barriers and uncertainty when planning community engagement. Using this tool will help utilities create consistent and transparent messaging about complex water concepts.
1. Glossary of commonly used urban water terms
Resources for water utilities
These resources have been developed to help water utilities design and deliver a community engagement about alternative water sources.
Case studies
Learn how some water utilities have engaged with their communities about alternative water sources.
Read the case studies
Resources to use with the community
Use our fact sheets and frequently asked questions to engage with your community.
See resources to use with the community
Resources to inform community engagement
We’ve created an online library of resources and tools to help water utilities to plan and deliver engagement with their communities about alternative water sources.
| Title | Source | Link |
|---|---|---|
| Additional and alternative water sources Frequently Asked Questions | Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water | FAQs |
| Alternative water supplies | Cooperative Research Centre for Water Sensitive Cities | Alternative water supplies - Cooperative Research Centre for Water sensitive cities |
| Title | Source | Link |
|---|---|---|
| Accelerating the adoption of water sensitive innovations: community perceptions of practices and technologies to mitigate urban stormwater pollution | Angela J. Dean, Fiona J. Newton, Robyn E. Gulliver, Kelly S. Fielding & Helen Ross (2023) Accelerating the adoption of water sensitive innovations: community perceptions of practices and technologies to mitigate urban stormwater pollution, Journal of Environmental Planning and Management, 66:4, 759-778, DOI: 10.1080/09640568.2021.2002279 | Taylor & Francis Online - Journal of Environmental Planning and Management, Volume 66 2023, Issue 4 |
| Communicating water words and visuals – making sense of the terminology | CRC for Water Sensitive Cities | CRC for Water Sensitive Cities - Fit for purpose |
| Community engagement | CRC for Water Sensitive Cities | CRC for Water Sensitive Cities - Community engagement |
| Fostering water sensitive citizenship – community profiles of engagement in water-related issues | A.J. Dean et al. / Environmental Science & Policy 55 (2016) 238–247 | Monash University Outputs |
| Getting the message right: the use of frames, community-friendly terminology and visual | Schultz, T., Dean, A., Newton, F., Ross, H., and Fielding, K. (2017). Getting the message right: the use of frames, community-friendly terminology and visuals. Melbourne, Australia: Cooperative Research Centre for Water Sensitive Cities | Water Sensitive Cities - Getting the message right |
| Communicating about sustainable urban water management: community and professional perspectives on water-related terminology | Angela J. Dean, Kelly S. Fielding, Effin Jamalludin, Fiona J. Newton & Helen Ross (2018): Communicating about sustainable urban water management: community and professional perspectives on water-related terminology, Urban Water Journal, DOI: 10.1080/1573062X.2018.1483523 | Taylor & Francis Online - Urban Water Journal Vol 15, 2018 Issue 4 |
| Lower Hunter Water Security Plan Case Study | The department's Water Group | Hunter Water’s Lower Hunter Water Security Plan |
| Rous Case Study | The department's Water Group | Rous County Council’s Future Water Project 2060 |
| Title | Source | Link |
|---|---|---|
| Our main water source | Sydney Water 2023 | Water sources - Sydney Water |
| Title | Source | Link |
|---|---|---|
| Resources that Help Sustain Environmental Volunteer Activist Leaders | Gulliver, R.E., Pittaway, C., Fielding, K.S. et al. Resources that Help Sustain Environmental Volunteer Activist Leaders. Voluntas (2023). | Springer Link - Volume 34, pages 1299-1309 |
| Title | Source | Link |
|---|---|---|
| Councillor Handbook | Office of Local Government 2021 | OLG Councillor Handbook |
| Title | Source | Link |
|---|---|---|
| Environmental sustainability: understanding the attitudes and behaviour of Australian households. | Fielding, K. et al. (2010) Environmental sustainability: understanding the attitudes and behaviour of Australian households AHURI Final Report No. 152. Melbourne: Australian Housing and Urban Research Institute. | Australian Housing and Urban Research Institute - Report No.152 |