Waterloo, Iowa, in Black Hawk County, is the first municipality in the U.S. to accept text messages for emergencies. Residents can send texts to 911 and get the help that they need. On the horizon, picture messages and video messages will be accepted, too.This is a pretty big technological leap for a local government to take, and it seems to me that it should have happened a long time ago.

In order to take advantage of the 911 texting service, residents of Black Hawk County, Iowa, need to be customers of i wireless, which is a T-Mobile affiliate in the area. Once they are enrolled in the program, they'll be able to submit text messages to 911 to seek help. Because text messages don't carry location information, users will first have to verify their location by sending their zip code. If the code matches, the message will be forwarded to 911 operators, who can then carry out a text-based conversation with the person seeking help.

One problem is that area residents who aren't part of this program won't be able to send texts. If they do, the 911 system will text them back, instructing them to call 911 instead. Black Hawk County says that it is already in talks with the other carriers in the region so that all residents can benefit from the program. Let's hope they all get on board sooner rather than later.

This is a big deal for several reasons.

First, it is not always safe to make a phone call during certain types of emergencies. If your business or home has been broken into, and the intruder or intruders are still in the building, making a phone call and speaking to a 911 operator can give away your presence. Text messages can be sent silently -- and safely.

Second, according to John Snapp, senior technical officer of Intrado, many children believe they can already send text messages to 911 to get help. That's dangerous. Granted, kids need to be taught that calling 911 is the fastest way to get help, but having a service in place to accept text messages means everyone will have another option.

Also, let's not forget, text messages can often sneak through clogged or congested networks when phone calls can't be connected.

What's really neat is that Black Hawk County is already looking at what's next. County officials noted that the system can be set up to accept picture and video messages, as well. This could help provide emergency services with even more information about the emergency at hand.

I tip my hat to the forward-looking folks over in Black Haw County, Iowa. Cool stuff. I hope to hear about more implementations of this type of technology in the coming months.