The Miami-Dade Water and Sewer Department was looking to strengthen connections with customers. The team found those connections lay in each person’s unique experiences with water.

“We recognized that we all come from different walks of life and have different experiences, but there is one commonality, and that is water,” says Roy Coley, director of the department, also known as the Water Guy. “Water is important to all of us. When you do a good job treating and providing water, it can be taken for granted.”

That became the theme of a successful public engagement campaign. The overarching objective from Coley’s point of view was to help residents appreciate and realize the value of water and how the utility works around the clock to provide it.

“Our department’s successes can be attributed to the unwavering support of Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava,” Coley says. “She is a water warrior who is a staunch advocate for our water resources.”

The Miami-Dade (Florida) Water and Sewer Department is one of the largest of its kind in the United States, serving more than 2.4 million customers while maintaining more than 8,500 miles of waterlines and some 4,100 miles of sewer lines.

Video vignettes

Coley believes public perception drives public resources. “We needed people to recognize the importance of water services in their lives and the importance of continuing investment in our water assets,” Coley says. “We wanted them to reflect on how water is present in their lives. We asked them to think of the wonderful memories they had around water.”

The communications staff created a video campaign around that theme. They asked residents to produce and submit one-minute videos on fond memories around water. If videos exceeded one minute, the staff edited them down. The utility also sends a camera crew for people who aren’t comfortable shooting their own videos.

The idea for the campaign came from Ileen Delgado, the department’s chief of public engagement. The communications team took over from there. The campaign is promoted on the utility website and through Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn and X. The team also outsourced the creation of a TV commercial showing people from all walks of life enjoying water during their everyday activities.

Happy tales

There is no prize for the submissions, but residents receive bragging rights, and highlighted submissions are posted on the website and social media. The utility tags videos at customers’ request so that they can share their stories with family, friends and neighbors. That extends the campaign’s reach.

Submissions run the gamut of residents’ fond memories of water. One resident explained how water affected his life from when he learned to swim in his family’s pool. Another, who owns a craft brewery, described how water is critical to every step in making beer.

Another resident talked about her survival from stage three cancer. She was told to stay hydrated during treatment and how water was critical to her survival and recovery. In one video, a mother talks about how her baby daughter would get fussy, but not when being given a bath. The sound of running water would calm her.

Popular with residents

The campaign was launched in late 2023. It has been well received, and the utility continues to receive submissions. Communications team members look at all submissions and choose two to three per month.

“If we get duplicate ideas, that’s OK because everyone tells their story from a different perspective,” Coley says. “We share others’ ideas with residents to get them thinking, but in no way do we write scripts for them. This is about their ideas and how water has been memorable in their lives. These are their stories.”

The team has received only positive comments on the videos: “It’s a very thought-provoking campaign. It gets people thinking about water and its significance in their lives. And that’s what our goal is.”

Videos can be viewed at miamidade.gov/global/water/water-is-life.page.