What are the essential elements of a water utility communication strategy?

Water flows quietly beneath our feet and behind our walls—but the communication needed to support that flow is anything but invisible. From public education to media relations and customer service, water utilities face increasing pressure to build trust, drive engagement and communicate clearly through a maze of stakeholders.

That’s where a comprehensive water utility communication strategy becomes essential. This isn’t a “nice to have”—it’s the blueprint for how your utility builds relationships, promotes transparency and delivers the right messages to the right people at the right time. Here’s what you need to include to build a strategy that works:

Stakeholder profiles: Start with who matters most

Before you write a single message, you need to know who you’re talking to—and what matters to them.

  • Who are your stakeholders? Regulators, elected officials, investors, customers, internal teams?
  • What do they care about? Compliance? Public welfare? Reliability? Financial transparency?
  • Where do they get their info? Social media, board meetings, news, your website?

Use tools like surveys, interviews and analytics to build out stakeholder profiles that highlight motivators, pain points and channel preferences. These profiles will inform every decision that follows.

Messaging that builds credibility

Consistency isn’t just helpful—it’s foundational. Clear, unified messaging builds trust and minimizes confusion. Your messaging playbook should include:

  • Stakeholder profiles
  • Communication objectives
  • Key messages with variations by audience
  • Supporting data and FAQs
  • Channel-specific guidance
  • Do’s and don’ts for tone, clarity and compliance
  • Internal approval workflows

Tactical toolkit: right message, right method

It’s not just what you say—it’s how and where you say it. Tailor your delivery methods to fit your audience.

Public relations:

  • Press releases, public statements and media tours
  • Thought leadership placements and media training

Digital media:

  • Social media engagement
  • Email newsletters
  • Paid digital campaigns
  • Up-to-date websites and customer portals

Traditional tactics:

  • Mailers and door hangers
  • Flyers at events or council meetings
  • Public presentations and printed brochures

Start by mapping each tactic to the stakeholder group it’s best suited for. You’ll find overlap—but resist the urge to use one-size-fits-all channels. Targeted is better.

A realistic project execution plan

Once your audiences, messages and tactics are locked, build out a tactical execution plan. This should include:

  • All selected tactics for the year
  • Key deadlines and kickoff dates
  • Promotion windows and milestones
  • Budget by initiative
  • Status tracking via spreadsheet or project management tool

Whether it’s managed in ClickUp, Excel or another platform, this plan will keep everyone aligned and accountable—and ensure nothing slips through the cracks.

Ready to build or strengthen your utility’s communication strategy?

Starting from scratch? Updating an old plan? Either way, having these foundational elements in place will set you up for success.

If your internal team is stretched thin, we can help. From message development to tactical execution, we work alongside utilities like yours to build strategies that support public trust, operational excellence and long-term resilience.

With over 20 years of experience in the water sector, our team doesn’t need a learning curve—we’re ready to dive in and get to work.

👉 Schedule a strategy call with Bā Agency to move your utility’s communications forward.