From Confusion to Clarity: A Public Platform for Septic System Awareness

Overview

EPA Safe Water Project

This website provides easy-to-understand information about septic systems, funding options, and septic tank services. It was created through a collaboration between AtmaConnect and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)

Role

Designer

Client & Duration

AtmaConnect & U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) / EJ CPS. May 2024, 1 week

Background

In Puerto Rico, understanding of how septic systems work and how to maintain them is still limited in many communities. This lack of awareness can lead to health risks and environmental issues. To help address this, we created this website as a resource for clear, accessible information about septic systems, maintenance tips, service options, and community programs

Goal

The goal is to educate, connect, and empower communities with the tools and knowledge needed to care for their septic systems and protect public health.

Task Brief

This project aims to develop a website that serves as a central hub for all things related to septic systems in Puerto Rico. The site expected to be:

• Informative – providing clear and accessible information about how septic systems work, why they matter, and the available services in different regions across Puerto Rico.
  

• Community-Connected – allowing users to access or request workshops on septic system care through local community groups or partner organizations.

The Challenge

The main challenges I faced when receiving the project brief was the large amount of educational content that needed to be communicated. While the material was important and informative, it was text-heavy and potentially overwhelming for users.

Adding to this, I had no clear data on reading habits or content engagement preferences in Puerto Rico. This made it difficult to gauge how the target audience would interact with the information, and raised concerns about how to present the content in a way that’s both engaging and accessible.

Design Process

Approach

With limited user data and a short project timeline, I took a “Keep it simple” approach. This led me to ask, “How can I make text-heavy content more engaging and readable for users?” From that question, I came up with the idea to use eye-catching icons and colors to make the website more visually appealing and easier to navigate.

Competitor analysis

I reviewed several websites from nonprofit and educational organizations with a similar mission to understand their approach. Here's what I found:

• Some of them used very plain or monotonous colors

• A few looked unbalanced or didn’t have a well-proportioned layout

Drawing from the insights above, I was inspired to craft a website design concept that embodies a sense of simplicity, cleanliness, and freshness, aiming to create a user-friendly experience that feels modern and approachable.

Based on the data gathered above, I formulated the following problem statement to better understand the core challenge and guide the design process

How might we create clear, inclusive content that supports users dealing with septic system concerns?

Defining the problem

Design

As the project evolved and my solutions took shape, I crafted a clean, user-friendly design with a fresh color palette. One that not only feels modern but also reflects the spirit and identity of the stakeholders involved.

Impact

Since the launch of the website, we’ve been tracking its impact on communities across Puerto Rico. Over time, the platform has helped residents access vital information and services more easily. For confidentiality reasons, the specific metrics have been omitted, but the positive outcomes are clear and ongoing

Reflection

Working on this project pushed me out of my comfort zone and challenged me to think independently. With limited data about the users and the region where the website would be implemented, I had to rely on intuition, research, and critical thinking. The text-heavy content added another layer of complexity, pushing me to find creative ways to turn dense information into a design that’s both functional and meaningful