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Staff says intake clog and pump issues prompted July 1 Code Red alert; no outages reported
Summary
Town staff told the advisory committee that mud clogged an intake and staff could not start the pump on July 1; reservoirs held customers but staff issued a Code Red alert to warn residents while troubleshooting.
Town utility staff explained operational problems that led to a Code Red public alert on July 1. Agency staff said: "Mud had clogged the intake structure, and then, the pump started, could not be started by staff," and that air was introduced into the line while crews flushed the system. Staff reported they relied on emergency reservoir storage and did not record any customer outages.
The official who described the incident (agency staff, speaker 7) said he was cautious issuing Code Red notices because in past cases such notices prompted spikes in household water use as residents rushed to fill storage. The committee discussed whether the notification reached all customers—members said some neighbors received messages through Facebook or other channels rather than direct system alerts—and staff acknowledged gaps in the contact database for Desert Hills and some customers outside municipal limits. Staff said they are reviewing contact data, evaluating the Code Red platform's settings and delivery KPIs, and considering alternate platforms to improve reach for future operational alerts.
The committee recorded this for operational follow‑up; staff will run AMI usage snapshots for the outage period to estimate customer response and refine the opt‑in/contact dataset before the next major alert.
