Last Week's Boil Water Notice: A Good Reminder to Sign Up and Be Ready for Alerts

Last week’s Boil Water Notice in South County was a reminder to make sure you understand how you will be alerted about an emergency.

Due to potential bacterial contamination in the water supply a Boil Water Notice was required to be put in place by the state. We utilized Reverse 911, AlertSLO, social media, mainstream media, and sent a Wireless Emergency Alert, but not everyone received the message.  Some people heard about the notice hours later—through a friend, family member or neighbor.  Although we use a variety of systems, there is no guarantee everyone will receive a notification.  Being aware of different notification methods and signing up for our systems will help us reach you. 

Wireless Emergency Alerts

Wireless Emergency Alerts (WEA) are those short, jarring messages sent to your phone that alert you to everything from potentially life-threatening weather to evacuation orders and Amber Alerts.

You don’t need to sign up for these (although you can opt out of them on your phone, which we really don’t recommend). These alerts are distributed by cell phone tower.  When your phone is in the affected area, you'll get the alert.  There are frequent technological glitches with phones and cell towers, which is why we also send the alerts in other ways.   These alerts are not distributed by a specific address; so it’s important to verify if you are in the affected area. 

The message length is limited so they often won’t give you all the info you need. But they will tell you where to find additional information, so follow the link provided for more details.

Reverse 911

We get it—most people won’t answer unknown numbers. But in an emergency, Reverse 911 calls are not spam. These are automated phone calls from local authorities with detailed information about threats in your area, evacuation orders, or instructions on where to go. The notifications are based on the address you registered, so you will get the message even if you aren’t in the affected area at the time.

But here’s the important thing to understand: Reverse 911 can only notify landlines automatically.  If you want to be notified on your cell phone, you have to register it through the Sheriff’s Department (you can select email or text message options, also).  You can register for Reverse 911 at AlertSLO.org.

AlertSLO

Here in SLO County, we also have AlertSLO. When something’s happening - extended power outage, highway closure, boil water notice, public safety hazard - you’ll get texts, emails, or calls depending on what you sign up for. 

Like Reverse 911, you must opt in. It is also based on the location you are registered at and not your current location. You can choose how you want to be contacted, what you want to be contacted about, and what areas you want information about. Visit www.AlertSLO.org to register.

Other Ways to Stay Informed During Emergencies

• Emergency Alert System: The Emergency Alert System is a nationwide tool that lets officials interrupt TV and radio broadcasts to quickly share urgent information during emergencies, such as evacuations.  This does not work on streaming TV or satellite services, so it has become less useful as less people watch cable TV and local programming. 
  
  
• NOAA Weather Radios: These radios allow you to get emergency information when you are out of cell coverage, towers are down, television isn’t transmitting, etc.  They will broadcast our WEA/EAS messages, but you need to purchase and have the NOAA radio with you.
  
  
• ReadySLO.org: San Luis Obispo County’s one stop website for all thing related to emergency preparedness, response and recovery.
  
  
• Social Media: Follow County OES and other local emergency officials on X (Twitter), Facebook, and Instagram. They all have apps you can download for instant updates.
  
  
• News Alerts: Many news apps allow you to customize push notifications. This includes the Tribune, KSBY and KCOY/KEYT.

Emergency Alerts Only Work If You Hear Them

We have important information to share during emergencies, but we can’t deliver it if you aren’t set up to receive it. Staying informed is your first line of defense in any emergency. So please - check your phone settings, register your number, and follow the right pages online.

Unfortunately, the Boil Water Notice isn’t going to be our only emergency. And it is an important  reminder that getting prepared now will help you in an emergency.