TOLEDO, OH (Toledo News Now) - The City of Toledo and Lucas County have been working together over the last year to create a plan on informing the public of another possible water crisis.
Their goal is not only to alert the public, but also to educate.
The city is working on early notification by putting a water quality scale on their website that allows the public to check daily if the quality is climbing to an unsafe level.
They are also making sure you understand each level of the scale, what the advisories mean and if a particular advisory pertains to you and your family.
This year there will be two possible advisories issued. The first will be issued after a 0.3 is reached. That advisory will be issued warning children five and under to not drink the water and be watched when they take baths. The second advisory will go out for everyone only when a 1.6 is reached.
"If we see a point three they will allow us to retest to see if our treatment process is working. Our message this year is that although you may see a point three, it's not a death sentence, it's not a certified emergency right away. We'll up our testing procedures and look at this point three," said Director of Public Utilities Ed Moore.
Moore says if the plant receives an unsafe level, they will send it to the state EPA for retesting and another water sample will be pulled.
If an unsafe level is hit the city will then take to Twitter, Facebook and their website. They will also issue an advisory through WTOL and other media outlets and send a text alert out to those signed up for Lucas County Alerts.
"Essentially, what has happened since the water crisis is more people are looking for ways to get connected to information and certainly more people are using their cell phones and using them as the go to way to communicate in the workplace and personally. So I think now more people may be interested in LucasCountyAlerts.com," said Lucas County Commissioner Tina Skeldon-Wozniak.
Currently 12,000 are signed up for the alert system. Lucas County Emergency Management is hoping more will take advantage of the free service, sign up and be on alert if something happens in the county you need to know about.
Also, if an unsafe level is detected at the water treatment plant, the director will send out a text message blast to leaders in all the municipalities who use Toledo's water. That means mayors and directors of public utilities in neighboring communities like Perrysburg and Oregon will be notified immediately.
To sign up for Lucas County Alerts click here.
