What happens when you install miles of pipe along a historic, busy highway with the Ohio River on one side and the wealthiest zip code on the other? A complex communication that threatens a utility’s reputation but creates an opportunity to build trust. This presentation provides an overview of how Louisville Water’s communications department collaborated with its engineering group and contractors to develop a communications and outreach plan for the River Road Residual Line Project. The construction path changed weekly and impacted commuter traffic, restaurants, homeowners, boaters, schools, and exclusive private clubs. The presentation will show how the team managed sensitive stakeholder conversations, vocal opposition, and extensive media coverage to share a cool engineering story and highlight the value of water. Attendees will see how Louisville Water developed (and often altered) strategic messages and delivered them through a variety of channels (in-person, social media influencers, elected leaders, a weekly newsletter, traditional media, videos, a website, and special signage) The pipe installation ended in nine months – more than a year ahead of schedule and research found that Louisville Water maintained its strong brand reputation. The strategies and tactics in this massive engineering project are ones that water providers can apply in a variety of settings. Key Takeaways: 1. Learn how behavior and emotional tactics can influence how consumers receive information. 2. See examples of communication tactics for a large engineering project. 3. Learn risk communication strategies that can help explain technical issues with empathy and relatable language. This session is ideal for utility and consulting engineers, communication professionals, and those who represent a utility project to the public. Attendees will leave with proven strategies and real-world examples to improve communications for large engineering projects and strengthen the public’s trust.