Richmond to begin issuing wireless emergency alerts for boil water advisories

RICHMOND, Va. (WRIC) -- The City of Richmond has announced that it will begin sending wireless emergency alerts for boil water advisories following late-May's advisory and subsequent concerns from residents regarding alerts.

Since the boil water advisory was issued for many Richmond neighborhoods in late May and was later lifted, the city said the Department of Emergency Communications, Preparedness and Response has changed its internal protocols, effective June 2, to allow wireless emergency alerts to be issued for boil water advisories.

The department will reportedly work with public safety partners to determine whether this form of alert is warranted in such circumstances. Wireless emergency alerts can also be used by Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)-trained and federally authorized personnel and are reportedly intended to be used sparingly.

The city said these notifications are part of a federally-regulated system used to send emergency alerts like evacuation orders, active shooter warnings or severe weather alerts, to all cell phones in a geographic area without residents needing to sign up. The alerts can also be used for public safety messages like boil water advisories.

The alert protocol change comes following residents' concerns that they never received notice from Richmond Ready Alerts -- a different alert system from wireless emergency alerts used by the city -- about the late May boil water advisory.

When you sign up for Richmond Ready Alerts, the boxes for each alert preference are automatically blank, and residents must check the boxes for which they wish to opt in.

The city said the Richmond Ready Alerts system offers "enhanced flexibility and control" for more localized or detailed alerts, like area-specific boil water notices.

A city spokesperson said the updated number of residents subscribed to Richmond Ready Alerts, as of June 2, was 7,444.