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A Summary of Information Provided by the
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the American Water Works Association 

The following information may be useful for writing a Consumer Confidence Report.

In early 1998, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) held individual and focus group interviews across the nation to ask people about their perceptions of the drinking water served by their utility. The results are summarized in a report written by Macro International, Inc. (April 27, 1998). The American Water Works Association (AWWA) also conducted similar interviews and published a report entitled "AWWA Focus Groups to Develop and Test Effective Water Quality Reports" by Robert Hurd & Associates, Inc. (March 26, 1998).

On April 29 and 30, 1998, EPA conducted three interviews in Tacoma, Washington with individuals and small focus groups. The following information is a summary of observations made by the Consumer Confidence Report Program Manager during these interviews.

In general, the interview participants do not:

• Know where their drinking water comes from.
• Know what "additives" are used in treatment.
• Know anything about the treatment process, in general. Some expressed an interest in taking a tour of a water treatment facility.
• Know what filters do or don’t do, but they trust filtration and assume it removes just about every kind of contaminant from water. This includes home/kitchen filters and pitchers with filters.
• Know the effects of home plumbing on water quality, but assume this is the worst of possible dangers. Few question the utility distribution system’s effect on water quality.
• Trust words like "may" or "could".
• Trust utilities to tell the truth regarding:

• What they add to the water;
• What they found in it after they monitored;
• Whether there are violations;
• What they’re paying for; e.g., What are utilities expenditures? They are mistrusting of why water costs what it does. Who regulates the cost of water by utilities?

In general, interview participants do:

• Think of getting water piped to their homes as requiring a "magical process."
• Assume if water is clear and tastes good, it’s safe. They assume that if water is piped to their homes, then it’s safe to drink. They trust monitoring activities, but do not know what they are.
• Want clear messages about what to do/ not to do (e.g., "Do Not Boil the Water" in the case of nitrates).
• Think drinking water should be monitored by those who drink it, such as local water companies, county and city agencies.
• Think the water company should provide water quality information, but that it should be overseen by a local governing agency.
• Believe that a history of no violations is too good to be true.
• Read local-based information.
• Want MORE "readable" information rather than LESS technical information.
• Want information on a regular basis (some monthly, some quarterly or every six months). Renters, apartment dwellers, those in assisted-care facilities (and the like) are concerned that they won’t get information if they don’t actually receive the bill.
• Want to receive information about their local utility. They could then anticipate construction activities, interruptions to service, rate increases, impacts to their property value, changes in taste, etc.
• Want to hear about acute problems via television and chronic problems "soon but not necessarily immediately." Their concern is not necessarily about the purity of water, but of the safety of water.
• Want a glossary (especially include "turbidity").
• Want acronyms defined (especially define SWTR).
• Read newsletters, but they look for negative news/information: rate increases, violations, inconveniences.
• Want to be told the good news, too.