America's Water Infrastructure Act (AWIA)
America’s Water Infrastructure Act (AWIA) passed Congress and was signed into law in 2018 to improve drinking water and water quality, deepen infrastructure investments, enhance public health and quality of life, increase jobs, and bolster the economy. The AWIA provisions are the most far-reaching changes to the Safe Drinking Water Act since the 1996 Amendments, with over 30 mandated programs. One aspect of this federal act was the Community Water System Risk and Resilience Assessments aimed at community water systems serving more than 3,300 people. These water systems are required to develop or update risk assessments and emergency response plans (ERPs). The law specifies the components that the risk assessments and ERPs must address, and establishes deadlines by which water systems must certify to EPA completion of the risk assessment and ERP.
Where do we stand with AWIA requirements now?
Many of the AWIA risk and resilience assessments and emergency response plan deadlines have come and gone for larger systems. However for systems serving populations ranging from 3,301 to 49,999 the deadline to certify that your emergency response plan has been completed or updated is December 20, 2021.
Special Considerations - Security
Recently, special attention has been paid to increasing the importance of security planning within general emergency response plans. And with good reason, 2021 alone has demonstrated that drinking water infrastructure is susceptible to cyberattacks which have potentially catastrophic results. Many small to medium systems may think that they are not susceptible to cyberattack. However, many cybercriminals are moving to attack smaller systems because they know there are less barriers in place to prevent attacks. The division encourages you and your system to incorporate robust cybersecurity measures into your emergency response plan. Please see the below resources to help you in these vital efforts.
Resources
- EPA's AWIA - Risk Assessments and Emergency Response Plans: Information and training needed to complete a successful risk assessment and ERP, along with deadlines and how-to guidance.
- Water Information Sharing and Analysis Center: Free webinars to educate operators and drinking water system owners on AWIA requirements.
- CDPHE Drinking Water Security Response Toolbox: This toolbox is designed to help water utilities plan for, prevent, and guide responses to security threats including general malevolent acts, cyberattacks, tampering, and violent acts.
- WQCD Free One-on-one Assistance: Free one-on-one coaching at your facility to meet your specific needs. Training units are available, depending on time spent with the coach.
