" I Am Frightened" …..
Boil Water Order and Communications March 11, 2014 3:45 PM
From: wolf19512@aol.com
To:”Greg Kisela” <gkisela@port-orange.org>Good afternoon-
I would like to take this moment to express my disappointment in the City on how the situation was handled. Yesterday afternoon I received a message from my husband that our water pressure had dropped. I called every number imaginable for Utilities – most were busy (very understandable) but a number of times the phones just rang and rang. 5 times, I called and after a few rings someone picked up (I could hear audible noise in the background) and then hung up. At the time I had no idea about the pipe being damaged. All I wanted was an answer as to why our water pressure dropped to a trickle. It wasn’t until over an hour later, from an associates Facebook page, did I discover the boil water notice. There was no contact via reverse 911, or anything. My elderly parents, who both have immune issues and other health issues and live in Crane Lakes, never received a call via reverse 911, or any contact whatsoever – I called them to tell them myself.
I realize that in the moments after a minor crisis such as this occur there is confusion and a small amount of chaos. However, it seems that in the hours following, there would be some type of better communication involved. Most media outlets just reported this on their scrolling news at the bottom of the screen, or not at all. Many people do not have cable or internet, and rely on other methods of gaining information. Perhaps a check into the reverse 911 system, and looking at other methods of contact residents in these types of situations would be advisable. If we couldn’t get information in something minor like this, I can’t imagine how the City and its employees would react in a real emergency – and if yesterday was any indication, I am frightened.
Thank you
To:”Greg Kisela” <gkisela@port-orange.org>Good afternoon-
I would like to take this moment to express my disappointment in the City on how the situation was handled. Yesterday afternoon I received a message from my husband that our water pressure had dropped. I called every number imaginable for Utilities – most were busy (very understandable) but a number of times the phones just rang and rang. 5 times, I called and after a few rings someone picked up (I could hear audible noise in the background) and then hung up. At the time I had no idea about the pipe being damaged. All I wanted was an answer as to why our water pressure dropped to a trickle. It wasn’t until over an hour later, from an associates Facebook page, did I discover the boil water notice. There was no contact via reverse 911, or anything. My elderly parents, who both have immune issues and other health issues and live in Crane Lakes, never received a call via reverse 911, or any contact whatsoever – I called them to tell them myself.
I realize that in the moments after a minor crisis such as this occur there is confusion and a small amount of chaos. However, it seems that in the hours following, there would be some type of better communication involved. Most media outlets just reported this on their scrolling news at the bottom of the screen, or not at all. Many people do not have cable or internet, and rely on other methods of gaining information. Perhaps a check into the reverse 911 system, and looking at other methods of contact residents in these types of situations would be advisable. If we couldn’t get information in something minor like this, I can’t imagine how the City and its employees would react in a real emergency – and if yesterday was any indication, I am frightened.
Thank you
Wolf