Montgomery council members question county’s emergency notification system

Montgomery County Council members Thursday openly questioned the ability of the county to notify residents in emergency situations, despite years of training, practice and the existence of an Emergency Operations Center with a roughly $2 million annual budget.

Confusion reigned throughout a three-day period last week when thousands of residents living north of the Beltway were required to boil water for drinking, cooking and washing the dishes and about 1,000 restaurants and food vendors were closed after a four-foot water main burst the evening of Sunday, June 16.