City of Wilmington

Like many aging Eastern U.S. cities, the City of Wilmington's Combined Sewer System (CSO) needs fixing. Public pressure for an immediate fix was building, but Public Works officials knew the costs for a quick fix would be enormous. Remline was asked to develop a public information strategy that would communicate the very technical nature of the problems facing the City and that there were no quick fixes.

Remline developed a public information strategy that helped everyone understand the complexity of the situation and get people calmed down enough in order to allow the City to build support for sensible solutions.

Remline's strategy was to educate those concerned by first finding ways to communicate this very technical situation in a way everyone could understand. Beginning with a PowerPoint presentation, Remline's Project Manager, writers and designers worked with the City's existing materials, simplifying and illustrating the process. This allowed Public Works to present information clearly to legislators. Following, Remline developed a poster and brochure that explained all elements of the CSO problem, showing that it was a multi-state regional watershed situation. This was released by the Mayors office, which met with the press, using the brochure as a tool to clearly illustrate the magnitude of the problem. Remline also developed and maintains a CSO website for the City that allows all interested citizens and legislators to access current information at all times as the plans develop.

Wide distribution of all information has shown the City is making every attempt to inform and reach out and explain that this is a regional problem requiring regional support. City officials will require excellent tools to help out when speaking to community organizations. Leaders will be challenged to move forward, but to do so thoughtfully; understanding that good solutions will take time, money and a partnership effort.

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