At their first meeting since a state order was issued banning residents from drinking their tap water for nearly a week, Oak Bluffs selectmen acknowledged the town did a poor job informing the public during the crisis and vowed to do better in the future.

“The water crisis was a bit of a wake-up call for us, as well as the emergency planners around the Island,” town administrator Michael Dutton said. “It was clear we were pretty rusty . . . the communication trees we thought were there were either outdated or not particularly well functioning — they certainly didn’t work to optimum efficiency.”

The state Department of Environmental Protection issued a boil-water order for the town on Sept. 25 after coliform bacteria was found in several water samples during routine monthly testing. Customers of the Oak Bluffs water district were told to use bottled or boiled water for nearly all their needs.

The DEP lifted the order six days later after the town passed three consecutive days of water testing. But many residents complained they did not learn of the order until several days after the fact, and some questioned why the town did not have a plan in place to get information to the public quickly and thoroughly.

Mr. Dutton on Tuesday said one reason for the communication gap during the crisis was that the Oak Bluffs water district is a distinct entity with its own chain of command and protocols for alerting the public during a crisis.

“I don’t say that as an excuse or a reason something happened or something didn’t happen. I only say that to give the situation a little more perspective. They are essentially as separate as Edgartown and Oak Bluffs,” Mr. Dutton said.

But selectman Ron DiOrio said the water district was aware of the problem on Wednesday, Sept. 23, but did not alert the town administrator or selectmen until two days later.

“Obviously their protocol is screwed up. It would seem the one key element to their protocol is that the town administrator and the chairman of the board of the selectmen are notified immediately. And that would have been on Wednesday [Sept. 23] rather than when it did occur on Friday [Sept. 25],” he said.

Selectman Kerry Scott agreed the town mishandled the water crisis with the exception of two people. She praised town health agent Shirley Fauteux and town emergency coordinator Peter Martell for working around the clock to inform the public about the boil-water order and make sure people had safe water to drink.

“The entire response from Oak Bluffs, to the extent that we truly responded in a responsible manner, was handled by Shirley . . . and Peter did yeoman’s work,” Ms. Scott said. “I don’t think the town’s response would have been anywhere near adequate if it weren’t for these two. And thanks to them it was almost adequate.”

Ms. Scott said she did not learn of the order until Saturday, and only because she got a call from Ms. Fauteux at Good Dog Goods, her store on Circuit avenue. Ms. Scott also said she was excluded from a series of emergency meetings during the crisis.

“To this day, I don’t know what has been done because I haven’t been part of any discussions . . . I feel strongly that all of us, all the selectmen, all the board of health, all of us who are equally elected, needed to be in the same room talking about these issues,” she said. Mr. Dutton said the town has already taken steps to improve response and communication in the event of an emergency. He said Mr. Martell is preparing banners to place over key roadways and is working on a plan that will identify strategic places such as the post office and senior center where notices can be placed during a crisis.

The new town Web site (oakbluffsma.gov) already has a place where people can sign up for e-mail notifications, and the town is exploring a reverse cell phone system that can broadcast a message from a cell tower to everyone within the coverage area. Also under study is a reverse 911 system that can send messages to people’s home telephones, Mr. Dutton said.

Selectman Duncan Ross cautioned against becoming overzealous. Mr. DiOrio agreed. “There is a fine line between notification and creating a state of panic,” he said. “I don’t want the Steamship Authority to think there is a plague downtown and turn the boat around.”

Mr. Dutton said several town officials will be trained in the Incident Command System, a federal program that establishes a specific chain of command as well as procedures, terminology and equipment to improve emergency response operations of all types and complexities.

“It sounds easy, but emergency planning is a lot of work. But if this happens again we will be better prepared,” he said.