WLI 2025 Final Project: Clear as Water: Knowledge Without the Noise

Each year the final project is a major part of the Water Leadership Institute. The WLI 2025 cohorts wrote articles on turning challenges into strengths through resilient leadership.  

Introduction

Water is a limited resource, treating or reusing it can be energy-intensive and costly. At the same time, polluted water threatens public and environmental health. Technical improvements alone are not enough; poor communication and misinformation can disrupt even the best systems, leading to distrust and inaction.

Water crises around the world reveal how communication shapes public engagement. When handled poorly, confusion and distrust grow. But when done well, communication fosters trust and drives collective action. Managing water resources sustainably demands clear, consistent, and community-focused messaging.

This is where communication frameworks, especially those that integrate both top-down leadership and bottom-up engagement, become essential tools for building public trust.

Communication in Crisis: Lessons from the Field

Multiple incidents highlight the link between communication, trust, and water safety.

Milwaukee, Wisconsin faced a breach of trust in 1993, when a parasite (cryptosporidium) in the water supply sickened over 400,000 people. Early public messaging was vague and slow. However, the city later committed to outreach, explaining safety improvements and technical upgrades. This helped restore confidence over time.

In Flint, Michigan, a 2011 seemingly cost-saving decision to use the Flint River without proper corrosion controls led to lead contamination. Residents’ concerns were met with conflicting messages and downplayed urgency. Only when external voices (activists, researchers, and healthcare providers) presented data did the crisis gain national attention. The resulting erosion of trust remains one of the most cited examples of communication failure in water management.

In contrast, Cape Town, South Africa, demonstrated effective crisis communication during its 2018 drought. Facing a potential shutdown of municipal water (“Day Zero”), the government launched a unified campaign combining urgency, clarity, and consistent messaging. Real-time dashboards and conservation guidelines empowered residents to act. Usage dropped nearly 60%, and disaster was averted.

These examples underscore that communication is not a soft skill—it’s a structural component of crisis response. Where transparency and coordination existed, public trust and action followed. Where it did not, the consequences were severe.

Building Trust Through Dual Communication Approaches

Effective communication strategies depend on engaging both leadership (top-down) and the public (bottom-up). These approaches are distinct but interdependent, reinforcing one another when aligned.

Bottom-Up Communication centers on empowering local communities: rate payers, residents, and civic bodies. In this approach, local residents, advocacy groups, and civic leaders drive the conversation and spread information. Most members of this audience are not experts, so messages must be relatable, clear and accurate. Communicators should connect issues to daily life, explain local impacts, and offer actionable steps.

Clarity and empathy are critical. The goal is to empower and to invite questions. Messaging should inspire confidence and participation. Providing specific conservation tips or safety measures gives individuals a sense of control and purpose. Trust grows when people feel informed and equipped to contribute.

Top-Down Communication, involves decision-makers, technical leaders, and policymakers. Here, communication should reflect responsibility, foresight, and public service. Leaders influence perception and policy—making their role foundational.

Three key principles define effective top-down messaging:

1. Education: Leaders must understand the science and consequences of their decisions.
2. Service: Messages should be framed around community benefit, not just compliance or efficiency.
3. Structure: Communication frameworks—like the “5 Ws and How”—help break down complex issues clearly and completely.

Top-down communication must also involve listening. Institutions should create feedback channels via town halls, surveys, or digital platforms that guide policy and strategy. Tools like fact sheets, graphics, and FAQs help translate technical content into accessible language.

Communication as Infrastructure

Top-down and bottom-up approaches are most effective when used together. Leadership sets the tone; community engagement ensures messages are understood and adopted. Together, they form a feedback loop: public response informs leadership decisions, and leadership adapts messaging based on community needs.

In Cape Town, this loop was established. Public concerns were addressed, and trust was rebuilt. In Milwaukee and Flint, the absence of feedback mechanisms contributed to lasting skepticism, even years after the crisis.

Effective communication does not happen by chance. It must be planned, resourced, and maintained with the same seriousness as physical infrastructure. The way a community talks about water can be just as important as how it delivers it.

Conclusion

Clear, two-way communication is not just a public relations tool it is essential infrastructure. Whether navigating scarcity, contamination, or skepticism, trust is built when communities are informed, heard, and empowered. Top-down leadership and bottom-up engagement must work together. In the end, trust flows from strong communication and without it, even the cleanest water may be met with doubt.

Citations

RCRA Public Participation Manual -Tools RCRA Public Participation Manual -Tools Communication Strategies Communication Strategies Required Activity? Making It Work How to Use.‌

“Best Practices in Environmental Communication - a Scientific Paper.” FromTheLabBench, 8 Nov. 2015, www.fromthelabbench.com/from-the-lab-bench-science-blog/2015/11/8/best-practices-in-environmental-communication-a-scientific-paper.

Schreiber, Leon. Keeping the Taps Running: How Cape Town Averted ‘Day Zero,’ 2017 – 2018. Innovations for Successful Societies, Princeton University, Feb. 2019.

Olivier, David W. “Cape Town’s Map of Water Usage Has Residents Seeing Red.” The Conversation, 17 Jan. 2018.

Mahr, Krista. “How Cape Town Was Saved from Running Out of Water.” The Guardian, 4 May 2018.

Authors:

Joanna Ibrahim, Caitlin Ruff, Cody Schoepke, Christa Cook, Abhishek Sharda, Andrew Barbeau, Beau Howard