Scituate officials acknowledged that the town's emergency notification system failed to reach many residents during last month's boil water order, prompting plans to test the system regularly and introduce a second method of alerting the public during emergencies.
During the Nov. 10 Select Board meeting, Town Administrator Jim Boudreau said the town's Reverse 911 system experienced a technical failure on Oct. 30, preventing numerous residents from receiving automated calls warning them about potential contamination in the municipal water supply. Although the order was lifted less than 48 hours later, the cause of the contamination remains unknown.
"The bottom line is the reverse 911 did not work. Many residents did not receive calls," Boudreau told the board.
Boudreau explained that the town prepared an emergency notification around 1 p.m. Oct. 30 and submitted it to the Plymouth County Sheriff's Department, which operates the notification system. The town received confirmation that the call had gone out at 2:18 p.m.
After receiving reports that residents had not been notified, officials sent a second alert early that evening. Boudreau acknowledged that the system had failed to reach many residents.
Police Chief Thompson and a deputy were assigned to investigate the failure with the Sheriff's Department. They determined that a technical issue on the county's end prevented the calls from reaching residents. According to Boudreau, Plymouth County has since corrected the problem, but the town intends to conduct its own test to verify that the system is functioning properly.
The town plans to include information about signing up for emergency notifications in upcoming water bills, including QR codes to simplify registration. Officials anticipate conducting a systemwide test in early January after the first round of notices has been distributed.
During the meeting, Select Board member Jamie Gilmore suggested establishing regular tests rather than waiting until another emergency to discover whether the system works.
"Why don't we have some sort of a regularized test mode that we can issue to see if everything's working so we're not waiting for the day of the emergency to know that it's not working," Gilmore asked.
Boudreau said the town expects to conduct a test of the Reverse 911 system in early January. Board members also raised the possibility of regular testing to identify problems before another emergency.
Scituate also plans to use an additional emergency notification system available through the Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency and the Federal Emergency Management Agency. Unlike Reverse 911, which relies on registered contact information, the alternative system can send geographically targeted alerts to cellphones within designated areas.
Boudreau said officials have confirmed that the system can be used during boil water emergencies. It could also allow the town to target residents in specific neighborhoods during flooding or other qualifying emergencies. The alternative system has restrictions on when it can be activated, but Boudreau said it will provide another way to reach residents when permitted.
The emergency notification problems were only part of the discussion. Officials also addressed questions about the water testing that prompted the boil water order and whether residents should have received an earlier warning.
According to Boudreau, initial testing detected E. coli, while subsequent samples tested negative for E. coli but continued to show total coliform bacteria. The Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection directed the town to issue the boil water order as a precaution.
Boudreau said subsequent testing was negative for E. coli but continued to show total coliform bacteria. Because E. coli had been detected in an earlier sample, state regulators directed the town to issue a boil water order as a precaution.
Boudreau explained that preliminary results can sometimes reflect testing errors or false positives. He said issuing public warnings before confirming a problem could unnecessarily alarm residents.
"So you wait until you actually have confirmation that something is wrong to make sure someone just didn't make a mistake…[before] caus[ing] all that anxiety," Boudreau said.
The water department will continue investigating the source of the contamination while completing recovery and reporting requirements established by the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection. Boudreau said crews also will continue flushing the water system until colder conditions prevent the work.
During the emergency, town employees and volunteers established a water distribution operation in less than 24 hours, providing more than 3,000 cases of bottled water to residents.
Officials said the department completed extensive testing to secure the lifting of the order, including collecting 22 samples on each of two consecutive days and delivering them to a laboratory for analysis.
Boudreau also reported that Jim McLaughlin, who oversees DEP's drinking water program, sent the town an email commending its response to the emergency. The town is expected to continue working with DEP on required follow-up procedures over the coming weeks while preparing for the January emergency notification system test.