A Sammamish water and sewer provider revealed its new look Monday.
Sammamish Plateau Water, formerly called the Sammamish Plateau Water and Sewer District, not only revamped its website, logo and name, but it re-upped its commitment to customers, General Manager Jay Krauss told the Reporter.
“We know water quality is important to our customers,” he said. “We also know that our customers are very busy.”
The redesign comes with a “crisp” website, intended to focus on the customer’s needs and wants rather than the governmental “dumping grounds,” as Krauss described the old site, where employees would post information without knowing the “value” it had to the customer.
On the new site, www.spwater.org, however, topical and information relevant to customers is in the foreground, Krauss said.
It focuses on most-used features, such as paying a bill, reporting an emergency and stopping or starting service. The district used Google Analytics to determine those popular links and information.
The redesign process began about a year-and-a-half ago when the district reached out to a communications consultant, Krauss said. The consultant conducted interviews with a range of key stakeholders, including a mix of residential and commercial customers.
About 12-15 district employees worked on the rebranding project, though the goal of better customer services extends to all 52 district employees, Krauss said.
As “stewards of the resources,” he said it’s important to maintain an open channel of communication when times are good, not just when something goes wrong (such as a pipe break or a contamination issue).
After all, it’s all about the customers and their water, he said.
“They can take their water quality for granted because we don’t,” he said.
The total consulting and website overhaul cost, which the district’s board of directors approved in 2015, is $130,000.
“We’re going to keep getting better,” Krauss said.
Next year, the district hopes to introduce an advanced meter program accessible to the customer so individuals can view daily logs that show how much water they consume, Krauss said. This information can also help customers identify any leaks that may be in their system.
Other ways the district is shifting its approach to communication with its customers includes making newsletters and water quality reports more readable and interesting — as opposed to simply producing a report because its legally required.
The district serves nearly 64,000 residents in Sammamish, Issaquah and unincorporated King County. It’s entire water and sewer system is valued at $875 million, Krauss said.
