An East Kent councillor wants to know why it took so long for Public Health officials to send out a boil water advisory.
A water main break in Ridgetown Wednesday afternoon prompted the advisory around 11:30pm. About 30 staff were called-in to hand deliver notices but it took the health unit ten hours before a notice was posted on its website and an advisory issued to the public.
Councillor Steven Pinsonneault says changes need to be made in an effort to get the message out to the masses quickly. "You know if you have a number to call, I'm assuming they would have a number to call an I.T. person who's on standby or on call, that could put it up on the website," says Pinsonneault. "But definitely we do need to look in that direction." Residents who have signed-up for the municipal email service didn't receive notification until 12-hours after the boil water advisory had been issued.
Pinsonneault says he'll approach the Public Utilities Commission (PUC) and the local Public Health Unit to see what their emergency protocol is, and if necessary, raise the issue in council chambers in an effort to improve notification. He was also contacted by residents who were concerned about how long it took PUC officials to find the leak.
