18 Dec Contra Costa Surveying Residents about Community Warning System

(Image courtesy of Contra Costa County via Bay City News)

By Michael J. Fitzgerald

Contra Costa Health is asking for input from county residents about how well the Community Warning System works, how much they use it, and if more notification options would improve it.

The CWS system alerts residents about all types of emergencies that affect public health or safety. The alerts include those from refineries and large chemical manufacturing facilities in Contra Costa County.

The online survey, available on the CWS page at cchealth.org, asks residents to provide information about familiarity with the tool, whether residents subscribe, and opinions about the efficiency of the service.

The CWS sends phone calls, texts and emails to anyone who signs up at cwsalerts.com. Users have the option to receive alerts only from certain areas of Contra Costa County or only about certain facilities.

The Industrial Safety Ordinance/Community Warning System Ad Hoc Committee of the county Board of Supervisors is conducting the survey. It also asks if residents would like notifications about nearby industrial incidents not deemed emergencies.

County officials say the system was designed for emergency use. When a facility reports an unexpected issue — such as flaring, odors, smoke, noises, or fires — CWS sends an alert to its subscribers, but only if the incident is likely to affect health in the surrounding community. For details about the CWS and its response levels, visit the CWS page at cchealth.org.

The county’s Hazardous Materials Incident Notification Policy requires specified facilities, including the county’s refineries, to immediately report to the CWS whenever there is a release — or threatened release — of hazardous material. Flaring events must be reported too.

Not all incidents received and investigated by CCH’s Hazardous Materials Response Team are subject to a community alert. CWS has received 227 reported Level 1 alerts so far in 2023 from industrial facilities.

Since 2022, an automated feed has displayed all active Level 1 alerts that have lasted longer than 20 minutes and are seen, heard or associated with offsite odors at cchealth.org/hazmat.

The survey asks whether CWS subscribers want the option to directly receive additional alerts via phone, text or email as they happen, even for incidents that may not threaten the community.

The survey will to continue through Jan. 12, 2024. After that, CCH will share the results publicly and with the Ad Hoc Committee.