As a public utility serving diverse communities, East Bay Municipal Utility District (EBMUD) realized that inaccessible digital services were not only a compliance hurdle but also a risk to service equity, employee productivity, and public trust. EBMUD was looking for a clear roadmap to delivering and sustaining accessible services—one that went beyond reactive fixes and scaled across the organization.

The challenge

EBMUD started early, conducting an assessment in the summer of 2025 with the goal of meeting Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) Title II requirements for web content and mobile applications by the April 2027 deadline. Rather than addressing accessibility through isolated remediation efforts, EBMUD wanted to take a forward-looking approach, understanding current organizational capability and defining a sustainable path to improvement across people, process, and technology.

The solution

EBMUD partnered with Vispero’s Digital Accessibility Services to assess its current accessibility maturity and define a practical, organization-wide roadmap. The engagement combined stakeholder interviews, policy and process review, and maturity modeling to establish a baseline and identify priority actions.

The outcome

Vispero developed a multi-year Digital Accessibility Program roadmap designed to guide EBMUD toward a proactive and sustainable accessibility model. The roadmap emphasized focus on six strategic themes to make a lasting impact over time:

  • Establish governance and accountability for accessibility
  • Prioritize remediation of public-facing digital content
  • Embed accessibility into development, content, and procurement workflows
  • Build internal knowledge and long-term capability
  • Reduce procurement and vendor risk
  • Improve transparency and support

The roadmap positions EBMUD to meet ADA Title II requirements while improving equitable access to essential digital services.

The result

While the pending Title II changes can feel overwhelming, especially for smaller organizations, EBMUD demonstrates how a thoughtful, structured approach can transform accessibility from a reactive obligation into a strategic capability. EBMUD now has a clear path to sustainable accessibility: reducing risk, strengthening public trust, and ensuring digital experiences work for people with disabilities today and into the future.