{"id":3578,"date":"2026-04-17T09:00:33","date_gmt":"2026-04-17T13:00:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/water.phila.gov\/blog\/?p=3578"},"modified":"2026-04-16T19:09:48","modified_gmt":"2026-04-16T23:09:48","slug":"another-year-of-pwd-customer-survey-results","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/water.phila.gov\/blog\/another-year-of-pwd-customer-survey-results\/","title":{"rendered":"PWD 2025 Customer Survey Results – What You Said About Us"},"content":{"rendered":"

Last summer, the Philadelphia Water Department (PWD)<\/a> \u2013 in partnership with ImpactED<\/a> at the University of Pennsylvania \u2013 conducted the 10th annual PWD customer survey.<\/p>\n

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The survey explored Philadelphia residents\u2019 attitudes, knowledge, and behaviors around our core services. This survey is one piece of a decade of research<\/a> that has helped PWD inform how it communicates, serves, and builds trust with the public.<\/p>\n

In 2025, we found that, while there is consistency with past years on key indicators, there are also some emerging trends that can inform future research and practice aligned with PWD\u2019s 2026-2030 Strategic Plan<\/a>. We wanted to share: (1) what\u2019s the same, (2) what\u2019s new, and (3) what\u2019s next.<\/p>\n

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What’s the same?<\/h2>\n

Most customers are satisfied with their PWD experience and trust that PWD is delivering safe drinking water to their homes.<\/h3>\n
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Most customers think the water quality is good or excellent.<\/h3>\n
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What’s new?<\/h2>\n

For the first time, the survey included questions specifically related to lead service lines. More than two-thirds of customers said they were concerned about lead in their home pipes. They were even more concerned about lead in other Philadelphia homes or in their child’s school or childcare center<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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More than half of customers know that the property owner is responsible for the entire water service line. They also feel knowledgeable about the different parts of home plumbing that provide water to their home. However, only about a quarter know how to determine the material of their water service line<\/a> at the meter.<\/p>\n

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The two responsibilities customers most want PWD to address in addition to its core services (providing safe drinking water, treating wastewater, and managing stormwater) are replacing lead service lines<\/a> and upgrading aging infrastructure<\/a> and technology.<\/p>\n

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What’s next?<\/h2>\n

Informed by customer survey results, here are some specific ways that PWD is continuing to build a water system that works with residents:<\/p>\n

Spreading the word about work that is already happening around key priorities<\/h3>\n
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PWD already has dedicated projects and programs that address issues customers say they want us to tackle. For example, PWD will test water for lead at schools and childcare facilities<\/a> in Philadelphia for free.<\/p>\n

The department is also launching a Service Line Replacement Pilot Program<\/a> later this year. Customers can use the Service Line Material Map<\/a> to check the status of their home plumbing. The City also has a multi-decade Water Revitalization Plan<\/a> to upgrade essential drinking water infrastructure.<\/p>\n

Continuing to publish and publicize the Drinking Water Quality Report<\/a><\/h3>\n

When customers know about this report – and\u00a0 know about PWD water quality testing practices – we consistently find those customers have more positive attitudes about PWD and Philadelphia tap water. It is easy to see why those positive outlooks come along with knowing about the annual report: it is where we share things like the latest findings on PFAS in our source water, which customers named as a top concern last year.<\/p>\n

Developing additional communications and resources that boost knowledge and awareness of home plumbing<\/h3>\n

The survey found that not all homeowners are aware that the service line is their responsibility. Even those who are aware aren’t always sure how to test the material or address common issues. In addition to sharing existing resources more broadly, PWD can focus on these areas through ongoing lead service line awareness outreach and resource development. Stay up to day by signing up for lead plumbing and water quality emails at water.phila.gov\/lead<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Prioritizing in-person outreach and tailoring events to community needs<\/h3>\n
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Survey results show a strong correlation between trust and interacting with PWD in person. PWD will use 2025 survey findings to plan events where customer trust could be improved. This allows the department to reach more people and to make sure they have the information they need.<\/p>\n

Connecting customer priorities to strategic planning priorities<\/h3>\n

Information about how customers see PWD’s work and what responsibilities they think PWD should prioritize will inform a strategic planning process that has been underway for several years. This will shape how PWD develops its new strategic plan.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Last summer, the Philadelphia Water Department (PWD) \u2013 in partnership with ImpactED at the University of Pennsylvania \u2013 conducted the 10th annual PWD customer survey. The survey explored Philadelphia residents\u2019 attitudes, knowledge, and behaviors around our core services. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":26,"featured_media":37714,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"custom_css":"","custom_js":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[20,25,548,31,534,109],"class_list":["post-3578","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-community","tag-colleges-and-universities","tag-customer-service","tag-drink-philly-tap","tag-drinking-water","tag-survey","tag-water-quality","wpautop"],"acf":{"suggested":null},"parsely":{"version":"1.1.0","canonical_url":"https:\/\/phila.gov\/blog\/another-year-of-pwd-customer-survey-results\/","smart_links":{"inbound":0,"outbound":0},"traffic_boost_suggestions_count":0,"meta":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","headline":"PWD 2025 Customer Survey Results – What You Said About Us","url":"http:\/\/water.phila.gov\/blog\/another-year-of-pwd-customer-survey-results\/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"http:\/\/water.phila.gov\/blog\/another-year-of-pwd-customer-survey-results\/"},"thumbnailUrl":"","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":""},"articleSection":"Community","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Justin Martin"}],"creator":["Justin Martin"],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"@PhillyH2O Blog","logo":""},"keywords":["colleges and universities","customer service","drink philly tap","drinking water","survey","water quality"],"dateCreated":"2026-04-17T13:00:33Z","datePublished":"2026-04-17T13:00:33Z","dateModified":"2026-04-17T13:00:33Z"},"rendered":"