EL PASO, TEXAS (KFOX14\/CBS4) \u2014 El Paso Water is developing a new notification system after customers raised concerns about communication in the aftermath of the 36-inch water main break in January, which left thousands of Northeast El Paso residents without water. <\/p>\n
The water main break, which released millions of gallons of water into the area, drained 15 reservoirs and affected over 100,000 residents, has continued to raise concerns and questions over how the utility plans to prevent the incident from repeating. <\/p>\n
During Tuesday’s El Paso City Council meeting, El Paso Water officials provided an update on the water main break, presenting improvement plans on preventing another major outage.<\/p>\n
According to the presentation, the utility is working on an El Paso Water app designed to send more targeted alerts during future outages or emergencies. The app is expected to allow geographic text messages to specific neighborhoods, push notifications for customers who opt in, and access to smart meter information.<\/p>\n
Gilbert Trejo, VP of operations and technical services at El Paso Water, said they are addressing the communication concerns that occurred in January, stating that information needed to get to residents sooner. <\/p>\n
“We did maintain constant communications throughout the event, but not soon enough, and we need to get there sooner. We have a solution to that, which we are working on,” Trejo said. <\/p>\n
El Paso Water officials said their after-action report included customer surveys that showed that many people prefer text messages, adding that their goal is to reach the customers most impacted, especially those who may be more vulnerable, rather than sending broader alerts to areas that may not be affected.<\/p>\n
“The majority of our customers want to communicate with us via text, they want a text sent to them, they want a push notification sent to them. The good news is that we are working on the El Paso Water app that is going to address all of these issues,” Trejo said. <\/p>\n
El Paso Water said the app should be ready for customers to sign up by the end of the summer. <\/p>\n
RECOMMENDED: El Paso Water to replace ruptured 36-inch main in Northeast with new pipeline<\/a><\/p>\n