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Effective Risk and Crisis Communication during Water Security Emergencies (Summary Report of EPA Sponsored Message Mapping Workshops)
Date: March 2007
Author: Vincent Covello, Scott Minamyer and Kathy Clayton
Institution: Office of Research and Development, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Bibliographic Entry: Covello, Vincent, Scott Minamyer and Kathy Clayton. Effective Risk and Crisis Communication during Water Security Emergencies (Summary Report of EPA Sponsored Message Mapping Workshops). Office of Research and Development, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 2007, http://www.epa.gov/nhsrc/pubs/reportCrisisCom040207.pdf.
Electronic Link: http://www.epa.gov/nhsrc/pubs/reportCrisisCom040207.pdf
Key Words: message mapping; Compassion, Conviction, and Optimism (CCO); Rule of 3; Average Grade Level Minus 4 (AGL- 4); Triple T Model; Negative Dominance (1N = 3P); Anticipate, Prepare, Practice (APP)
Summary of Key Points, Issues, Conclusions:
Risk communication skills are imperative for successful management during crises. Recent U.S. and global events have resulted in heightened recognition by public officials and others responsible for crisis management of the need to evaluate and refine these skills.
Message mapping has become widely accepted as a method of preparing for crisis communication before an actual crisis, and can be applicable for various types of potential incidents, including those affecting drinking water and wastewater utilities. For this reason, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has sponsored message mapping workshops focusing on several categories of water infrastructure crises. This report presents information from those workshops that could be useful to water sector organizations as they develop or improve their respective risk communication plans. The techniques for developing and delivering effective crisis messages described in this report should be considered within the context of a comprehensive written risk communication plan prepared by the water sector organization in advance.
Invited workshop participants represented a cross-section of water utilities from various regions of the United States; local, state, and federal government agencies; emergency response organizations; public health officials; law enforcement agencies; and water sector professional associations.
Following an overview of risk communication and message mapping principles, participant work groups produced message maps for each of the following six hypothetical scenarios:
• Possible chemical contamination of a reservoir
• Physical attack—bomb explosion
• Credible threat—unknown agent and location
• Loss of electrical power impacting water delivery systems
• Pesticide contamination
• Biological contamination
Products generated by workshop participants include:
• A list of stakeholders who will need information during a water sector crisis
• A list of anticipated questions or concerns from the public and media for each of the six scenarios
• Message maps for a small subset of anticipated questions for each scenario
Name of Researcher: Alison Stevens
Institution: Integrative Center for Homeland Security, Texas A&M University
Date Posted: Oct. 3, 2007