AWWA ACE59856

This paper provides an overview of Tampa Bay Water's award-winning public information campaign, "The Science of Water." It discusses how the agency connected with the community to achieve key objectives, including: preventing human fatalities by preparing kidney dialysis professionals for the change; preventing loss of fish and aquatic life by informing their owners about how to protect them from chloramines; raising awareness of the upcoming water treatment change and its impacts; ensuring consistent communications among our member governments; and, fulfilling the Florida Department of Environmental Protection's permitting requirement to conduct a public information program prior to using chloramines. Key elements of "The Science of Water" multi-media campaign are discussed in the paper and include: research; target audience definition; development of key strategies for each objective; and, program evaluation. Includes table.