COVID-19 and Water Operation Concerns
Dear Worried,
Great questions! We are also concerned about the impacts of COVID-19. In fact, we have prepared an Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) document about exactly your concerns. Please read through it.
FAQ Highlights
During any type of emergency, the most powerful tool for public utilities is other utilities lending a hand. This was true in the large-scale flooding of 2013 as well as major forest fires and blizzards. Having a network of other utilities that you can rely on is highly valuable.
Our primary recommendation to utilities is to make both your needs and your resources known on the CoWARN network. CoWARN is an organization that facilitates mutual aid and resource sharing between water and wastewater utilities, and it is free to join. READ MORE ABOUT IT IN THE FAQ.
If you are short-staffed, you would still need to sample, but please contact CDPHE during any specific emergency where sampling will be disrupted. We also recommend sampling early in the month (or monitoring period). That way, if staff become ill later in the month, at least there will be one less thing to worry about for that month. We are more than happy to help you prioritize and also to warn potentially impacted people. Also, it is important to announce your labor shortages during an emergency through the CoWARN network.
Please check out the FAQ. If you have concerns that are not addressed in the FAQ, please let us know! It’s very likely that someone else has the same question, so we want to add it to the FAQ. You can also check out the news updates on our department COVID-19 webpage for the latest information on Colorado's COVID-19 efforts.
Best of luck,
-Aqua Man
Contacts
Drinking water
Tyson Ingels | tyson.ingels@state.co.us
Lead Drinking Water Engineer
Wastewater
David Kurz | david.kurz@state.co.us
Lead Wastewater Engineer
