3n Mass Notification System Enables Public Water Utility to Notify Thousands of Customers During Emergencies and for Proactive Customer Service and Other Routine Activities
GLENDALE, CALIF. --[EMERGENCY NOTIFICATION NEWS]-- March 20, 2006 – 3n (National Notification Network), a mass notification system provider, today announced Park Water Company (PWC) is using 3n’s InstaCom GIS as its primary communications platform for emergencies and daily operations, such as proactive customer service notifications.
PWC and its subsidiaries provide water service and supply to a population of more than 200,000 in Los Angeles and San Bernardino Counties in California and in Missoula County in Montana. PWC needed a high-capacity communications and notification system to notify thousands of customers in minutes concerning routine operations and emergencies. In emergency situations PWC is required to rapidly disseminate time-sensitive information and instructions to customers, in addition to quickly communicating with employees.
Other more routine activities, such as flushing—the process of cleaning pipes through the force of water, required PWC to notify residents by sending out letters, posting street signs in the communities and placing door hangers. With the 3n notification system, PWC has been able to eliminate the manual, costly and time-intensive process of door hangers. Now geographically-targeted customers are notified by telephone the night before, providing residents more effective and timely communication of a scheduled flushing so they can plan their activities accordingly.
PWC chose 3n to meet its mass notification needs specifically for 3n’s geographically targeted communication capabilities. This geographic-targeting function enables PWC to notify customers in a specific community where a flushing is scheduled, for instance. Instead of alerting all residents unnecessarily with a notification, the system is capable of targeting a specific area. Residents receive only relevant voice notifications thereby increasing their attention to the message and decreasing chances for residents to feel “spammed” which could decrease the value of the notification system.
Andrew Alpert, vice president of sales for 3n, commented, “Mass notification and GIS technology are adaptable to an endless number of utility customer service, operations, and emergency situations. PWC’s commitment to 3n demonstrates the importance the Company places on using communications technology to improve customer service, as well as its concern for public safety.”
About Park Water Company
Park Water Company (PWC) is an investor-owned, public water utility. Its primary activity is the production, storage, distribution, and sale of water. PWC and subsidiaries currently deliver water to approximately 65,000 service connections, through a distribution system of over 800 miles of pipeline. It serves a population of about 200,000 people in Los Angeles and San Bernardino Counties in California, and in Missoula County in Montana. The California Public Utilities Commission regulates public utility operations in California; the Montana Public Service Commission regulates operations in Montana.
