Harwich Water Department - Voice Broadcast System FAQs

What is a Voice Broadcast System?
This service allows authorized Departments to create and rapidly disseminate time-sensitive messages to every telephone number stored in the notification database. Only authorized officials are allowed access to the system.

How does the service work?
Authorized officials have voice message recorded that is then delivered quickly to individual phones in the notification database.

What types of messages will be sent using the service?
Any message regarding the safety or welfare of our community would be disseminated using this service.
Examples could include water main breaks, severe weather warnings and updates, hazardous traffic or road conditions inside the town or affecting local routes, and any other situation that could impact the safety, property, or welfare of our customers.

Is my telephone number included in the notification database?
It is our intention and hope that every residence and commercial facility in our community be included in the notification database. We are requesting one main/local phone number for this Voice Broadcast System. Other phone numbers will be collected but not used for this purpose.

May I use a cell phone as my notification database listing?
Yes, we can accept cell phones as secondary phone numbers in the database and encourage you to request that your number be included.

What precautions are being taken to protect personal information?
The Harwich Water Department and Harwich Emergency Management Unit take security and privacy concerns very seriously and do not sell, trade, lease or loan any data about our clients to any third party. From a technical perspective, we utilize multiple physical and virtual layers of firewalls to maintain data security. We only utilize secure transmissions with its customers. No confidential information is ever transmitted.

Will there be a way to positively identify incoming calls which are made by the Harwich Water Department and Emergency Management Unit?
Every message will begin with the same standard announcement: “Hello, this is the Harwich Water
Department/Harwich Department of Emergency Management calling with an important message”. The message content will follow this standard introduction.

Will the Voice Broadcast System work if I have a call screening system on my phone?
There are several varieties of call screening devices which use differing protocols for screening. In general, the system has been found to work with these devices; but, some may require some type of pre-programming to allow our Department telephone number to pass through. We may conduct periodic test to assure that messages are being delivered to numbers in the notification database.

If I have provided more than one phone number, when will they be called?
At this time, we will only be using a local Harwich/cell/primary phone number.

My primary phone is a cell phone with a non-local area code. Will the Voice Broadcast System call numbers outside the area?
Yes. The area code does not impact whether or not a call is made.

Why is correspondence going to the Harwich Water Department only?
Currently, the Voice Broadcast System is located at the Harwich Water Department. Therefore, the Harwich Water Department will be managing the resident database.