The Challenge

United Utilities came to DJS having identified a specific geography as a key problem area where sewer blockages kept occurring and impacting the wider environment.  

Teaming up with Northern Roots, a local urban farm and eco-park, their brand was also harnessed to develop and deliver an innovative behaviour change communication campaign.

The Approach

A large-scale qualitative exercise was conducted with residents consisting of in-depth discussions and focus groups. These discussions explored residents’ perceptions of their area, their current sewer behaviour, the barriers and enablers of sewer safe behaviour using the COM-B model, and their reaction to both the financial and environmental implications of sewer unsafe behaviour. This was also placed in the wider context of what was important to them in their lives whether water-related or not.

Ideation sessions with the local community were also held that generated ideas for interventions to reduce the incidence of sewer unsafe behaviourand explore how this issue could be best communicated to the local community.

Community Champions were also recruited from the area to the project team provide added consultancy and expertise of the area and the people that lived there.

The Results

This research not only shed light on the underlying beliefs and behaviours which lead to sewer unsafe behaviour within the target area, but it also provided a range of ideas for comms to help achieve lasting behaviour change.

Furthermore, it led to a range of creative ideas for interventions that were gleaned both from participants themselves and from looking outside of the problem to other industries that have tackled something similar in the past.

These intervention ideas are now with the operational teams being worked up into options for behavioural trials.

United Utilities