(Credit: Courtesy Saratoga Sprins DPW, 2023)
(Credit: Screengrab City of Saratoga Springs, 2023)
(Credit: Steve Thurston, 2022)
The announcement that a water main break in Saratoga Springs affecting a large swath of the city and, later, that a “boil water advisory” had been issued was announced by three different departments — Public Works, Public Safety and the Mayor’s office — with people from each department handling the communications.
“I think this is a good example of why we need to holistically upgrade our communications systems across city government,” Commissioner of Public Works Jason Golub said in an interview Jan. 2. With the right technology, the city could push a single message reaching the entire city, he said. “That’s where I would like to see us go — both for DPW and the city — is to have a ‘smart city’ upgrade of our communication infrastructure.”
He used the term “smart city” to indicate use of citywide wifi, 5G networks other communications infrastructure to reach everyone where they are with emergency messaging.
Mayor Ron Kim said in an interview today that he believes it is time for the city to consider changes in the ways it communicates with the public.
"Should we look at this and sort of figure out the next time because [the problem] could be more serious? Absolutely,” he said, adding that the city will need to learn “what we did well and not so well."
He pinned some of the blame on the holiday, that getting a hold of the right people who could push out the notifications at the city and county took over an hour in both cases.
"We're in the middle of a holiday. I reached out to the county, but the person whose cell phone I had, he didn't contact me for an hour," Kim said.
The county has a reverse 911 page that will send emergency emails or texts to residents. Users can also download the Code Red app to get the messages.
Even with the emergency messaging at the city level, the the mayor said only about 300 or 400 people are signed up on the city's "Notify Me" email system, which gives users a way to get emails on a number of topics ranging from city meetings to emergency announcements.
[Find the city's "Notify Me" page here. See the county reverse 911 page here.]
The mayor also mentioned the commission form of government that the city operates under. It decentralizes communications so that each department issues its own statements.
“I'm responsible for everything, but I don't control everything," the mayor said. He said he understood that Commissioner Golub might not have had time to talk to the mayor when the crisis was at its height, but that also meant that the mayor heard some information later than he might have.
"I think we did the best we could the day after New Years Eve,” Kim said, adding, "I am saying we could do better."
Along those lines, the Department of Public Works will be rolling out the Access E11 “Public Engagement Platform” in February. This is a service DPW subscribed to in October. For $12,500 for the year running Nov. 1, 2022 to Nov. 1, 2023, NetFore Systems Inc., will set up the system and provide the service that allows citizens an online portal to report problems and allows DPW to track work and responses to the reported problems.
“Better communication with residents is critical for DPW and you see why,” Golub said today. “This [new software] is DPW specific. If you see a problem in the streets, you’ll be able to communicate directly with DPW, and DPW will communicate with you.
The software will allow opportunities for DPW to broadcast snow or water emergencies and tell people of more mundane activities such as leaf removal dates and locations.
"We would like to then leverage this to then expand it to include emergency and crisis communications, but we’re not there yet,” he said.
System fixed. Boiling water may soon end. More fixes coming.
Golub said in the interview that the 12-inch pipe that burst under Excelsior Avenue near East Avenue has been repaired, the pumps are back on and the system is fully operational.
A second water test has been sent to the state Department of Health, and assuming the test is clear of contaminants, the boil water advisory can be turned off Tuesday morning January 3.
“My sense is that is aging infrastructure,” Golub said. “This is why replacing these old pipes and aging infrastructure is so important to DPW and high on our priority list. We don’t want to see it continue to happen.”
Three different water main upsizing projects on the calendar this year for State, Alger and Clinton streets.
Upgrading aging infrastructure "is a critical part of our focus now and moving forward,” Golub said.