Some water quality programs have used other media—such as report cards and newsletters—to convey water quality information to the public. Examples of those efforts can be found at the links below.
Dashboards allow relevant information, including maps, graphs, pictures, and narrative elements, to be placed together at the viewer's fingertips. The examples included here are not to be comprehensive; rather, their collection is meant to facilitate the sharing of ideas among water quality programs, especially CWA 303(d) programs, and generate new ideas about how to use this tool for different purposes.
Interactive digital tools have been an increasingly important means of communication for water quality programs. Two examples of such tools are Esri ArcGIS Story Maps and dashboards. Story Maps allow the inclusion of multimedia elements, such as pictures and interactive maps, within a guided narrative. Dashboards can be built through ArcGIS Story Map App Templates, ArcGIS Dashboards, and Tableau, and other products, and allow for key metrics and pieces of information to be displayed side-by-side.
To see examples of each type of product, click one of the links below.
Dashboards allow relevant information, including maps, graphs, pictures, and narrative elements, to be placed together at the viewer's fingertips. The examples included here are not to be comprehensive; rather, their collection is meant to facilitate the sharing of ideas among water quality programs, especially CWA 303(d) programs, and generate new ideas about how to use this tool for different purposes.
Interactive digital tools have been an increasingly important means of communication for water quality programs. Two examples of such tools are Esri ArcGIS Story Maps and dashboards. Story Maps allow the inclusion of multimedia elements, such as pictures and interactive maps, within a guided narrative. Dashboards can be built through ArcGIS Story Map App Templates, ArcGIS Dashboards, and Tableau, and other products, and allow for key metrics and pieces of information to be displayed side-by-side.
To see examples of each type of product, click one of the links below.
Arkansas: DEQ has created presentations to explain the water quality program generally and how citizens can get involved.
Florida: In-person meetings seem to work better in some basins than in others, but webinar-type meetings generally lead to more attendance. DEP has also found success with providing materials after the meeting for those who are unable to attend (i.e., recordings of presentations, slides, meeting notes, etc.). Both types of meetings have pros and cons.
To reach all stakeholders (including communities that may traditionally have been excluded from public participation processes or for whom water quality information may usually be inaccessible), it may be necessary for water quality programs to translate certain materials into other languages. This page contains information about what products have been translated into what languages, providing links to examples where possible. Also included is information about how translations were developed.
CWA 303(d) Program and other water quality staff often deliver presentations and speak at meetings as part of obligatory public comment processes as well as other communication and engagement efforts. Responses to ELI's communication questionnaire included narrative descriptions of successful presentations, as well as examples of specific slideshows used.
