44 - Harnessing Water Utility Customer Reporting for Robust Operations and Effective Management

Water utilities rely on numerous sources of data to gain continuous and differing insights into the integrity and operational status of drinking water systems. The service problems that customers report are important sources of information which allow utilities to identify problems and determine how operational decisions impact the resulting level of service. During emergencies, this customer-sourced information is especially critical as circumstances change quickly, monitoring systems may be compromised, and utilities may be reliant on customer cooperation to, for example, conserve water to maintain sufficient water reserves. However, little is known about how reporting varies in terms of where, when, and what problems customers are aware of or choose to report. Given that drinking water systems are sociotechnical systems, the presence of such patterns in customer reporting can indicate spatial disparities in technical performance, level of service, and customer engagement. Here, we explore the tightly coupled sociotechnical interdependencies that exist between customers and drinking water systems through an analysis of customer reporting data, technical performance indicators, and sociodemographic characteristics. Our analysis identifies and compares spatial patterns in customer reporting against technical system performance and evaluates how trends change during emergency events. Results show that customer reporting changed significantly during emergency operating conditions, and several sociodemographic characteristics were statistically associated with areas of higher or lower reporting levels. We provide recommendations for incorporating customer reporting data—an important but frequently underutilized source of information—into operations and communication practices to promote more community-centered and equitable service.