CASE STUDY: GOVERNMENT & PUBLIC SECTOR
How Custom Software Connects 7,000 Water Facilities for Emergency Response
DragonPoint designed and built a 24/7/365 emergency-response platform for a statewide water agency, connecting thousands of drinking water and wastewater facilities so they can report status, request help, and offer assistance—before, during, and long after major storms.
- Serves 9,000+ users across roughly 7,000 water and wastewater facilities statewide
- Cut emergency response-team setup from hours to minutes
- Recognized at the national level and recommended for adoption in other states
The Solution at a Glance
What We Built
24/7/365 Platform
A single statewide system to report status and request or offer assistance year-round—not just during hurricane season.
Works Anywhere
A progressive web app with offline data entry plus a text (SMS) interface, so utilities can report even without reliable internet.
Automated Mutual Aid
One entered need instantly emails nearby facilities and administrators; Mutual Aid Agreements are e-signed, eliminating paper.
Built to Scale
Role-based access, data-driven email automation, bulk Excel imports, ArcGIS mapping, and management of more than 1,000 dams statewide.
The Challenge
Coordinating help across a state’s thousands of water and wastewater facilities—especially after a hurricane—was a manual scramble. If a facility needed a part or a crew that wasn’t immediately available, staff would start calling people one at a time. Mutual Aid Agreements were paper forms that had to be signed, scanned, and uploaded. With hundreds of facilities affected at once, there was no central, real-time way to report status, request assistance, or match urgent needs to nearby resources.
Key challenges:
- Post-storm coordination depended on phone calls and manual outreach
- Paper Mutual Aid Agreements slowed urgent assistance
- No single, real-time view of facility status statewide
- Infrequent users needed simple access during high-stress events
- Connectivity in the field is often unreliable after major storms
When hundreds of utilities are impacted simultaneously, every manual step delays getting clean water service restored.
Our Approach
Rather than build another generic portal, DragonPoint’s custom software development team designed the platform around how utilities actually work during an emergency—simple enough for infrequent users reporting from the field, yet powerful enough for state administrators and water-management teams during a storm.
The key shift was turning a single request into instant, targeted outreach. As soon as a facility enters a need, the system automatically emails application administrators and nearby medium and large facilities with the specific labor or equipment required—reaching hundreds of potential helpers at once instead of one phone call at a time. Custom software integration ties in third-party services like SMS texting and ArcGIS mapping behind the scenes.
- Delivered to production in April 2020—a month ahead of schedule
- Added a text (SMS) interface so utilities can report status and request help by phone
- Built a progressive web app with offline entry that syncs once connectivity returns
- Expanded the system to manage the state’s 1,000+ dams, including a public dam-owner survey
- Created a response-team wizard that assigns facilities to team members in minutes
- Put email content, recipients, and scheduling in administrators’ hands with a template editor
The same DragonPoint team has enhanced the system every year since launch, so it keeps pace with the state’s needs.
How the Platform Works
Instead of phone trees and paper forms, every request flows through one statewide platform—reported, routed, matched, and coordinated, 24/7/365.
Report from Anywhere
Field users report status or request labor and equipment in a few taps—online, offline, or by text message.
Instant, Targeted Outreach
One entered need automatically emails administrators and nearby facilities with the exact help required—reaching hundreds at once.
Match & Mobilize Aid
Facilities offer assistance and e-sign Mutual Aid Agreements—no paper, no phone tree.
Coordinate Statewide
A response-team wizard assigns facilities in minutes, with ArcGIS maps showing status across the state.
Restore & Track
Teams act on real-time information to restore clean-water service, with everything logged and available 24/7/365.
Results
The platform turned a manual, phone-tree scramble into fast, coordinated, statewide response:
Statewide Coordination
7,000+ facilities and 9,000+ users report status and exchange aid on one platform.
Hours to Minutes
Building a response team and assigning facilities now takes minutes instead of hours.
Resilient in the Field
Offline entry and SMS keep reporting working when networks are down after a storm.
Battle-Tested
Relied on through multiple major hurricanes.
What began as a post-hurricane reporting tool has become a year-round lifeline for the state’s water utilities—accurate, timely, and available 24/7/365.
Business Impact
Beyond day-to-day coordination, the platform earned recognition well beyond the state.
National Recognition
Earned recognition at both the state and national level, including requests to demonstrate it at nationwide industry meetings.
A Model for Other States
The platform’s approach is now recommended as a model for adoption in other states.
Paperless Mutual Aid
E-signature replaced sign-scan-upload, speeding urgent assistance when it’s needed most.
Continuously Evolving
DragonPoint has enhanced the platform every year since its 2020 launch, so it keeps pace with the state’s changing needs.
The platform didn’t just solve a one-time problem—it became critical public infrastructure for protecting the state’s drinking water.
Need a System Your Team Can Count On When It Matters Most?
From emergency response to everyday operations, DragonPoint builds custom software that fits how your organization actually works—and keeps working when conditions are at their worst.
“In 30 minutes, we’ll help you find where a custom system could save your team the most time.”
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