Customers of the Cullman County water department have a new online resource with this week’s launching of a new user-friendly departmental website.

 The site —  www.cullmancowater.com — launched Friday. It features an abundance of information on how to establish service, real-time updates on outages and water line maintenance, information on fees and penalties, and a link to an online bill-paying page hosted by the Cullman Electric Cooperative.

Built by web developer Jason Waddell, who works with the Cullman County Economic Development Office, the site represents one in a series of recent refreshes for county agencies and department looking to update their online presence.

“I’m kind of putting forth an effort to move the arenas of web development and design forward for the county,” said Waddell Friday. “It’s really about bring back other [county] departments that have used outside companies, in the past, to build and maintain their pages. It saves money for us to do it in house, and we’re approaching it with the idea that there’s no need for a lot of our departments to have to seek this service outside. That’s what I get paid for.”

Waddell worked with assistant water department manager Jayne Waldrep to ensure the new site hit upon all the right points to offer water customers a single convenient place to get information, make contact with a department representative, or take care of their bill.

“There’s a lot there, and there will still be a few things that we’ll add as we go forward,” Waddell said. “Right now, people can get on there if, say, they want to understand how the billing system works, or how cutoffs work. There’s information on what the fees are to place a water tap or install a fire hydrant, on locating lines and replacing their water meters.

“People can also access the rules and regulations for our county water system, and additional information on customer service procedures. The goal is for the site to be a great resource in Cullman County for people who might be new to the area, or who are planning to move here, as well as for those who want to know a little more about the department, how it functions, and, of course, to pay their bill online.”

* Benjamin Bullard can be reached by e-mail at bbullard@cullmantimes.com or by telephone at 734-2131 ext. 270.