You’ve met your AWIA requirements - now what?

As many of you know, on October 23, 2018, America's Water Infrastructure Act (AWIA) was signed into law. AWIA Section 2013 required community drinking water systems serving more than 3,300 people to develop or update risk assessments and emergency response plans (ERPs) and submit a statement of certification for each document to the EPA. The deadline for both the risk assessment and emergency response plan has come and gone. Many systems may be asking, What now?

EPA built a framework to help drinking water and wastewater systems build resilience, which involves the following elements: 

• Assess
• Plan
• Train 
• Respond
• Recover 

So, now that you have assessed risks to your system and written a plan you can move forward with training your staff on emergency planning, responding to emergencies as they arise, and recovering from unexpected upsets.

Below are some resources to help you with each of these aspects of emergency management: 

1. Train 

• Resiliency Training For The Water Sector
• Develop a training and exercise plan
• Conduct tabletop exercises
• Find training opportunities

2. Respond

• Response On-The-Go Tool
• Print a checklist to help you respond
• Monitor severe weather
• Respond to supply challenges

3. Recover

• Mitigate natural disasters
• Find federal funding for your utility
• Decontamination resources
• Learn about the Public Assistance Program
• Get reimbursement tips

How to keep your plan up to date?

Another aspect of keeping you and your team prepared for any situation is to periodically review your risk assessment and emergency management plan. A crucial part of your emergency planning is creating and sustaining partnerships in your community and in your county. Your major partners include: 

• Local Emergency Planning Committee
• Local police departments, fire department, emergency medical services 
• Other local critical infrastructure: gas, electric, etc. 
• Critical customers: child care facilities, hospitals, dialysis centers, schools, etc.

Thank you for all that you do to protect the public health of your communities, especially during emergencies! 

➽ Kyra Gregory, Drinking Water Training Specialist