Signups for Lucas County text, email alerts increase after drinking ban

8/9/2014

Lucas County Emergency Management officials said there has been a spike in residents signing up to receive emergency text and email alerts since last weekend’s water crisis.

After city of Toledo leaders issued the do-not-drink alert Aug. 2, Lucas County officials activated the electronic alert system to notify residents about the water crisis.

Only the 8,000 users who were signed up at that time, however, received the message.

Since last Saturday an additional 3,000 people have visited the county management agency Web site and signed up for the service, said Dex Stanger, operations officer for the agency.

Mayor D. Michael Collins encouraged residents on Friday to sign up for the alerts. In addition to water emergencies, the free service will alert residents when there is a tornado warning in effect in the area.

To sign up for the service, go to lucascounty alerts.com.

Mr. Stanger said that after users enter a name, email, and cell phone number, they must hit the “sign up now” button at the bottom to complete the process. He said the system can sometimes move slowly, so users should hit that button only once to prevent signing up multiple times.