Comox Valley Regional District

COMOX NO. 2 PUMP STATION

An aging forcemain is posing an environmental risk and needs to be rerouted. The proposed solution though – a pump station in a residential rural neighbourhood – is highly unpopular. To help re-connect with the community and enable constructive dialogue, ZINC was asked to develop and implement a communications strategy. This included consistent and open outreach such as newsletters, web updates, advisory notices and public open houses (and related materials). To engage more fully on the proposed facility, ZINC created a series of design workshops that connected area residents with engineers and architects on the project to collect feedback and demonstrate responsiveness with the resulting proposed design. Ongoing issues management, social media support has also helped move this project towards a solution.