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Grundy County EMA reports Kankakee River ice watch, details alert reach and preparedness activities
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Summary
Grundy County Emergency Management reported active monitoring of Kankakee River ice, paused siphon operations because of warm water, and provided county alerting metrics (EMA app downloads, Nixle, Everbridge, Nextdoor and social reach) while noting upcoming exercises and volunteer preparedness events.
The Grundy County Emergency Management Agency told the county board it is closely monitoring ice conditions on the Kankakee River after crews started siphons and later stopped them because water temperatures rose.
The EMA director said the county participates in weekly interagency calls involving local fire departments, Will County EMA, the National Weather Service and other partners to watch ice movement and potential river impacts. "We started the siphons last Friday; they had to shut them off last night because the water temperature is too warm," the director said. The director added that crews had cut a channel through the ice but that large, solid chunks remain extending toward Indiana.
The EMA report included a summary of the agency's outreach and alerting reach across several platforms. Officials reported 1,681 iOS app downloads and 4,537 Android downloads for the Grundy County EMA app; Nixle SMS alerts reach 4,615 phone numbers; Everbridge has 473 users; county email distribution was reported at about 1,937 addresses; Nextdoor membership was listed as 11,388 members representing roughly 8,206 claimed households; Instagram followers totaled 228, X (formerly Twitter) 599, and Facebook reach approximately 14,582.
The director said the county will continue monitoring as temperatures fluctuate and highlighted planned exercises and outreach: nuclear-exercise coordination, homeland security and LAPC meetings, and volunteer preparedness activities tied to Earthquake Awareness Month and high-school wellness nights.
Board members asked no substantive questions during the report. The EMA director emphasized continued interagency coordination and public-alerting as conditions evolve.
