City officials consider mass-notification system for future emergencies
Podcast Episode
After the weekend boil water order, the City of Janesville is refining its emergency notifications. WCLO's Beth Wheelock reports.
JANESVILLE — Twenty-four hours of widespread worry led this city to look for new ways to notify the public in emergencies.
The city of Janesville fielded hundreds of calls Friday after it issued a boil-water advisory for parts of the city’s east side, said utilities director Dan Lynch.
Follow-up samples tested clean, and the advisory was lifted at 1:45 p.m. Saturday.
The city did what it usually does in emergencies. It sent out news releases and posted information on its Web site. News outlets soon had the information on their Web sites and on the air. The city also notified those who had signed up for its automatic e-mail notification system.
“We reacted as fast as we could, and we did everything we could with the resources we had available,” Lynch said.
Still, some were upset they weren’t informed sooner.
“I was on my third glass of water when I logged onto the Gazette (Web site) yesterday at 4 and found the article,” one resident complained online Saturday.
“I am sincerely sorry,” Lynch said. “There are 24,000 people in this (affected) zone, there are 64,000 people in the city, and we just don’t have a good way to contact everybody almost right away.”
So officials will consider whether new technologies could help inform more people faster, Lynch said.
Lynch said one option to consider is a “reverse 911” system, which can send out automated messages to telephones.
Commenters on the Gazette’s Web site were making the same suggestion Saturday.
“We’re going to look into what we can do, because the next time, it might not be a water problem, but maybe we have some other kind of distress, that we have to try to notify people,” Lynch said. “This was a learning curve for a number of us.”
For the moment, Lynch is relieved that the second round of tests came up clean.
“I am going to go get a big glass of water,” Lynch said soon after the advisory was canceled Saturday.
What caused the first test to show the presence of fecal bacteria?
“We don’t know, and we probably never will know.” Lynch said.
Lynch suspects the sample got contaminated, although it appears proper precautions were taken.
As of Friday, the county health department had not heard of any outbreak of symptoms that fecal bacteria in the water might have caused, Lynch said.
“I certainly hope no one got sick,” Lynch said. “Like I said, we had a positive test, but we didn’t necessarily have confirmation that E. coli was necessarily in the water. We had an indication. We had to do what we had to do, but I’m not sure that the water was ever compromised.”
But issuing the alert was the right thing to do, Lynch said, because of the potential harm to public health.
Some restaurants closed, even though they could have stayed open by using bottled water and buying new ice. Some shut off their soft-drink machines, which use city water.
Grocery stores saw a run on bottled water. Those who use city water to wash produce were required to dump the produce and wash new produce only with bottled water.
Private well? Have it checked
Owners of private wells should not be feeling superior to those who get city water in the wake of Janesville’s boil-water advisory, said Tim Banwell, environmental health director for the Rock County Health Department.
About 20 percent of private wells are contaminated, typically, Banwell said, and that’s why those wells should be tested at least once a year.
For more information, contact the health department at (608) 757-5441.
WATER ALERT TIME LINE
Here’s how the Janesville tainted-water alert played out, according to utilities director Dan Lynch. Some times are approximate.
- 10 a.m. Thursday: City water utility worker takes a routine water sample.
- 11 a.m. Thursday: A test of the sample begins. Final results take 24 hours.
- 9:30 a.m. Friday: The city laboratory informs the water utility that a test is showing signs of being positive for coliform bacteria. A call is placed to the DNR, as required. Message also left with City Hall.
- 10:30 a.m. Friday: A DNR official calls back. In the meantime, the sample also shows presence of E. coli bacteria, a more serious threat.
- 12:02 p.m. Friday: DNR orders the city to issue a boil-water alert. The alert gives the city 24 hours in which to issue the alert.
- 12:45 p.m. Friday: Water utility officials go to City Hall and meet with City Manager Eric Levitt and Administrative Services Director Jay Winzenz, who give the go-ahead to proceed. Lynch works with information specialist Rebecca Smith to write the notice. Creating a map of the affected area and describing the precise boundary to define the affected area take time, Lynch said.
- 1:30 p.m. Friday: Tests of new water samples begin.
- 2:48 p.m. Friday: City sends the boil-water news release via e-mail.
- 1:45 p.m. Saturday: City lifts the boil-water advisory.
May 12, 2009 at 8:09 a.m.
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To Marge123-Of course this isn't about waste water. I am just saying that if chemical companies can test waste water every 8 hours, the least the city can do is test all of it's wells every 8 hours.
May 11, 2009 at 4:54 p.m.
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Also, does anyone know how often the water is tested?
May 11, 2009 at 4:54 p.m.
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How about mass text messaging? That would be beneficial for any kind of civil emergency, from Amber Alerts to tornado warnings.
May 11, 2009 at 4:41 p.m.
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I'm not sure what type of notification system the Milton School District has, but it is wonderful! We have been very pleased with their automated phone system when there were snow days or even with the swine flu virus.
May 11, 2009 at 4:32 p.m.
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Jowner--the city follows all requirments as to testing the water (this was Not about wastewater)
May 11, 2009 at 1:37 p.m.
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bebe...Excellent idea!
May 11, 2009 at 1:15 p.m.
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I previously posted on an article on the water thing and will do again in case the city fathers read the blog - Janesville should look in to Connect-CTTY, a program originally developed for schools for closings, etc. The Company is now marketing to municipalities - my northern IL town purchased it about a year ago. It's a perfect program for instant notification, whether it's required for an entire town or simply a targeted area. The Company loads all phone numbers within the town in to the system. Residents have an opt out option as well as the ability to add additional numbers, such as cell or office, etc. as well as email addresses. Our public works department has used it for area roadwork projects, water shutoffs, water or sewer line issues, etc. The amount of time it takes to notify residents is the amount of time it takes to record a message. It can also be programmed to be sent at a certain time, for example if roads are to be closed for a marathon, etc. If the City pursues looking into this program, I believe the City should only cover the expense incurred for those living in the City limits and just be for City Department use, not for the Janesville School District - they have their own revenue sources.
May 11, 2009 at 12:52 p.m.
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HELLO, CALLING JANESVILLE,WISCONSIN==This is the 21st century. Get with the program.Even the chemical companies have to test their waste water every 8 hours. Yes, waste water. Every Well should be tested at least 4 times a day.Get out from behind your desks.
May 11, 2009 at 12:24 p.m.
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I think a reverse 911 system is worth exploring for use in a real emergency. The billboards are also good suggestions.
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It's dirt cheap nowadays to buy a robocall service. It would probably cost around $1000-2000 to reach the households affected by this, though. Not sure that was warranted. It's also possible to buy your own turnkey voice system -- basically a PC with a voice modem and some software. There are also ways to add them onto a PBX. But then there's a cost for maintaining it and making sure it's ready for use.
May 11, 2009 at 11:24 a.m.
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Why not use the new electronic billboards to post a warning? Post the alert and give info on where to contact for more details, ie: phone number or website.
May 11, 2009 at 1:59 a.m.
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Why couldnt a boil advisory be broadcast over the Emergency Broadcast System or a system like it?
I would break in on local tv programming informing a large portion of people who don't listen to WCLO and WJVL. The reverse call system would work for people who have a phone... what about people who don't?
May 10, 2009 at 11:29 p.m.
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If I can get ten calls a day from last year's presidential candidates during the week before the primaries using a robo-dialer, then I'm pretty sure the city could take a look at the cost of contracting with one of these services to use in emergencies.
Pair up with the school district - they could use this service too when a large number of parents/guardians need to be notified (closings, lock downs, etc).
I don't think it's silly to expect more effective solution for mass notifications. The tech is out there, the services are available. Companies do this for a living and are more than happy to provide demonstations to anyone who is interested - the city or school districts just have to decide if they're interested.
The costs are not exceptionally high especially given the number of times it would be needed.
May 10, 2009 at 10:47 p.m.
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Is there really a way to contact even 24,000 people within an hour time period? Those who have signed up for the alerts get those right. But maybe they don't happen to get on line for a few hours. Even with technolgy that can call that many, some people still may not be home or within hearing distance of their phone so may get some recorded message. When you hear a recorded message on your answering machine/voice mail what do you do? I delete as I don't need an extended warranty. We have sirens in Janesville, but most people do not go immediately to the radio or websites to see what is up. And for those who see conspiracy in this, I agree with EMMO46 and don't be a "drama queen". This case was handled properly and in a timely matter. Thanks to all involved.
May 10, 2009 at 10:03 p.m.
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A "Reverse 911" could be put in at the County level, to save on costs. Some First responders have been trying to get it at the Rock County Dispatch for a while. This episode shows the need.
May 10, 2009 at 8:38 p.m.
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Dan Lynch said: "I’m not sure that the water was ever compromised.”
It was not an emergency, it was an "Advisory" and the WDNR only requires a community to notify residents within 24 hours of verification. The City of Janesville went beyond the requirement. Lots of people have been posting responses to other Gazette atricles like it was some "really big deal" and that the city was negligent.
Grow up people, and go find some other "emergency" to play out your "Drama Queen" histerical soap operas.
May 10, 2009 at 7:53 p.m.
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It is sort of silly to expect instant notification. The contamination could have appeared at any time since the last test -- presumably at least one day earlier, probably longer than that.
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