The town of Altona tested out a new tool that is designed to communicate emergency messages to local residents.

The CONNECT system was put through its paces last week Monday as part of a test of the town's emergency alert operations.

Mayor Al Friesen says they used the system to send out a test message to citizens and were pleased with how well it worked.

"It's part of the All-Net Municipal Solutions program. It's a Manitoba company that is relied upon by communities across Canada. We were looking for ways to reach out to the community in a timely manner as part of our emergency planning. Since that time people have indicated that they would like to be a part of that information flow especially in times of an emergency. So, overall we think it went well."

Friesen says the town was able to connect to about 550 people in the community with those test messages. He adds the CONNECT system can be used for a variety of messages the town deems urgent.

"What drove the point home more recently was a water disruption or power outages. This is one more way to give people a heads-up on that in a timely manner and when there is something of urgency or a sense of timeliness, then this could work well for that."

Friesen says if residents want to be a part of their CONNECT system and receive alerts and urgent messages from the town they can register by going to the town's website and by calling the administration office.