Santa Clara Valley Water District
Innovating emergency response for a water district where flood, drought, and fire are front-of-mind concerns
1.9 M
Santa Clara County citizens using I.F. technology
7
Self-audits powered by Drupal webforms
28
Free water-saving gadgets available to the public
Special Features:
Drupal 10
Fulcrum Hosting
Location/Maps
Machine Translation
Sitewide Alerts
3rd Party Integrations
When the Santa Clara Valley Water District set out to rebuild their website, they were looking for a solution that could do more than just manage static information, collect payments, and handle other standard user interactions. They also needed a way to ensure they could communicate up-to-the-minute alerts and news to customers when their essential services were upended by natural disasters. In a region of the county where droughts, wildfires, and floods have become increasingly common, Santa Clara Valley Water District didn’t want this urgent priority to become buried among the many other requirements that their new site would need to fulfill.
Everyday reliability and enhanced emergency response
Our own research confirmed Santa Clara Valley Water District’s concerns that users were facing particularly high levels of frustration in the wake of unexpected events like a recent flood. But we also learned about their more typical frustrations. The Voice of Citizen® analysis revealed that the existing navigation structure failed to meet the distinct needs of the utility’s two primary user groups, residents and businesses. The site we created for Santa Clara Valley Water answers both these common frustrations and the challenge of being prepared for natural disasters and emergency alerts.
Everyday user needs and tasks are quick to access and easy to complete. Separate spaces and menu systems for residents and businesses eliminate confusion and make it easier to deliver targeted content. We also created a custom search feature with filter options, and the utility can showcase their biggest and best projects in a visually appealing Project Updates section.
We found multiple ways to ensure that Santa Clara Valley Water District is ready to convey information quickly and effectively in any emergency situation. Search enables them to spotlight flood or drought content seasonally as needed. An emergency information page and alert system holds essential emergency content that can be published with a moment’s notice when needed, now considered a best practice for any utility or public-facing organization.
Success factors
- Custom advanced search capabilities
- Comprehensive emergency site alerts
- Separate spaces for residential and business customers
- Platforms to share news and updates about large-scale projects
