Salem residents and others throughout Utah County may soon have the added protection of an emergency phone-calling service.

Police Chief Brad James said the county system would be paid for by a Homeland Security grant, and cities will only be responsible for small yearly fees. James said the need for the system became apparent last year when a water crisis in Woodland Hills directly affected Salem.

Woodland Hills residents were without water for days after a pump in the Maple Canyon well broke, and some Salem residents near the neighboring town were affected as well. Salem had other wells that could route water to its residents, but it took time, and residents needed to be notified in the meantime.

"We had a disruption in Woodland Hills that involved one of our wells," James said. "It only affected a small part of our community, but it would have been nice to have a system to work with rather than going door-to-door."

James said he does not know when everything will be in place to begin using the system, but the city is currently working on getting all the information it needs. Residents were asked to include in their utility bills any contact information they would like to be used.

Justin Watters, communications manager for Utah County, said the county also has no system in place for any widespread notification needs. The Homeland Security grant could be used for several different options, but he said buying the reverse phone-calling system will be a big asset for the county.

The system that officials are planning to buy from CityWatch would be able to contact home phones, cell phones, fax machines and e-mails in the event of an emergency. Residents would also have the ability to enter their contact information online, and the system may end up working more efficiently than other similar options because of its compatibility. "The reason we purchased this particular system is because it has the capability of working with the systems of the state Health Department and Weber and Davis counties," he said.

Each system has 24 phone lines, so if a widespread message needed to be sent out, using the phone lines from other systems would greatly increase the speed of the call-outs. Watters said the reverse phone-calling system is an asset for any notifications, not just emergencies. It can be used when flooding or fires occur, or if there is a missing person. It can also be used by the school district if children will be held after school.

Watters said the county is still negotiating, but the system will hopefully be in place by mid-summer.

Salem Mayor Lane Henderson said Utah County contacted the city at just the right time about the new product. Henderson said the option became available the same day the City Council was set to make a decision on paying for another system. The city had already been looking into products because the Woodland Hills water crisis had shown the serious need for a way to notify residents. Although only about a dozen homes were affected in Salem, residents still needed to know what was happening.

"It just took a lot longer to get to people and let them know what was going on," he said. "This will be a lot more immediate."

Henderson said the new system will be a win-win situation because the city does not have to pay anything for two years. After the two-year trial period, the city will decide whether to keep the system, but some reverse phone service will always be in place. The city has had a way to notify residents, but Henderson said it was time to get something more state-of-the-art.

"We have had a system in the past," he said. "It's just a horn that you sound. But you obviously can't hear it throughout the city."