California Water Service Co. wants something from its customers – emergency contact information.
After a potential E. coli contamination this summer put hundreds of Los Altos residents under a boil-water alert, Cal Water plans to improve its notification procedures.
“We’ve never had a situation like this occur before – of this magnitude,” said Yvonne Kingman, corporate communications manager. “This incident helped us see where there might be holes in our system that we can work to prevent something like this from recurring.”
The company earlier this year launched a new online Customer Contact Update system – available at ccu.calwater.com – through which customers can update their information to ensure that they are contacted in the wake of a water-related emergency.
Kingman said the utility company would also prioritize website updates and establish a presence on the social media forum Nextdoor – starting in Los Altos because of the online platform’s popularity with residents.
It was Nextdoor, in fact, that proved pivotal in the July E. coli scare.
The website “went hot,” said Los Altos City Councilwoman Jeannie Bruins of her first exposure to the problem, so she called Cal Water for more information.
“I felt like I was talking to someone who had very little information, which didn’t offer a lot of comfort,” she said.
Once she identified herself as a councilwoman, company representatives provided her with information to initiate a city response in coordination with Cal Water’s efforts.
Notification procedures
At the Los Altos City Council meeting days after the incident, councilmembers requested that Cal Water officials report on the contamination and the company’s response.
The report came Sept. 8, with Cal Water interim District Manager Tony Carrasco addressing the council.
“We look forward to working with all of you and partnering, so we can have some better response in the future,” he said.
Carrasco said when the local water samples tested positive for E. coli and total coliform, officials determined the potential affected area, sampled to confirm the initial results and notified residents.
Cal Water began with its automated notification phone system, which contacted 576 of 853 service connections. The system also has the capability to send emails and text messages, but Carrasco said “a low percentage” of customers had provided their email addresses or opted for text messaging, so the company solely used landline notification as a supplement to door-to-door alerts.
Carrasco said notification “took a little bit longer than we anticipated” because of the size of the impacted area, the time of day and safety concerns related to a burglary scam that had occurred just days prior. He said crews cautioned residents via door hangers through the night until the early-morning hours and resumed at daybreak until the work was complete.
Before hitting the streets, the company contacted the Los Altos Police Department dispatch center to notify them that they’d be knocking on residents’ doors.
“That was the extent of our notification at that time,” said Chief Tuck Younis.
Councilmembers requested a more coordinated effort – including tracking down residents’ emergency contact information.
“It could have been something even more serious than what you were dealing with,” said Councilwoman Mary Prochnow to Cal Water officials. “And it would be good for all of us to get that information in to the proper agencies.”
The Los Altos Police Department notifies the public of emergencies through Santa Clara County’s Regional Mass Notification System, AlertSCC, which delivers information to landlines, email addresses and text-capable devices stored in the database. Residents can update their information at sccgov.org/sites/alertscc/Pages/home.aspx.
The public can also subscribe at Nixle.com to receive city-related emergency information by email or text.
