AWWA JAW28461

The communication program of the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP) has been largely informational - messages have historically been passed from the utility to the public without citizens being involved in any substantive way in decisions about water quality issues. In 1985, however, when LADWP made plans to construct an aeration tower to strip contaminants from groundwater without notifying the community in the immediate vicinity of the proposed site, there was a public outcry. Many lessons were learned from this experience, including the importance of public participation in the early planning stages of a project, the advantages of providing as much information as possible to the public, and the recognition that risk judgments are often based on factors other than the degree of hazard. Includes 4 references, table.