Philadelphia Water Department

The City of Philadelphia, acting through its Water Department (PWD), has committed to increasing customer satisfaction and building public support for its infrastructure investments that result in cleaner waterways. To accomplish their goals of engaging with the public, we worked with PWD to conduct a mixed methods evaluation of customer, construction project and customer assistance programs satisfaction.

The study consisted of a city-wide survey of over 2,000 residents and 9 focus groups with targeted customer groups, including residents affected by recently completed construction projects and recipients of the Homeowners Emergency Loan Program (HELP). The research culminated in a detailed report that will be used to inform departmental improvements.

“To support its commitment to improve customer service, the Water Department began working with ImpactED two years ago to survey its customers in a number of areas including satisfaction with water quality, general customer service received by phone and in person, construction related activities and interaction with our assistance programs. The ImpactED team guided us through the development and implementation of both surveys and focus groups. Their expertise and enthusiasm for our work resulted in concrete actions that we will be acting upon in the near future.”

– Joanne Dahme, General Manager, Public Affairs, Philadelphia Water Department