The City of Tucson restored its website and online services Thursday morning after they were down for about two days while computer experts investigated “unusual activity” recently detected on its systems.
The city warned that it may periodically disrupt access to some of its systems in the coming days, as it continues to investigate with the help of a third-party specialist.
“As a part of this investigation, the City has and will continue to take measures that periodically disrupt access to certain systems, including the website and payment portals,” the city said in a news release early Thursday afternoon. “While inconvenient, these disruptions represent proactive measures by the City to ensure the safety of information and systems.”
City spokeswoman Lane Mandle said she did not have further information about the nature of the unusual activity because the investigation is ongoing.
Since city water customers were not able to pay their bills online during the shutdown, Tucson Water said it has suspended all pending water shutoffs for non-payment and will not resume shutoffs before June 7.
After the website and billing system issue is resolved, the utility will communicate with affected customers before proceeding with shutoffs, the city said.
The city said it will provide updates during the investigation “when relevant information regarding impacts to its systems becomes available.”
The city is encouraging the public to continue to contact customer-service representatives by phone if they are unable to complete payments and other activities online.
The City of Tucson Resource Line can be reached at 791-2540.
Tucson Water’s Customer Solutions Center can be reached at 791-3242 for issues related to water and environmental services.
