Preparing Emergency Response Plans - Drinking Water Systems
All drinking water systems and the people and businesses they serve will benefit from a well prepared emergency response plan. In New York State all community water systems that serve more than 3,300 people are required by State Public Health Law (sec. 1125) to prepare and submit a water supply emergency plan. These plans are submitted to the County Health Department or State Health Department District Health Office that regulates the utility. Some counties have additional emergency plan requirements that water systems must meet.
To be useful, emergency plans need to be complete, up to date, organized to find important information quickly, and readily available when needed. Emergency plans must include an assessment of vulnerability to water supply contamination and disruption, including the possibility of terrorist attack. In approving emergency plans, the Department also looks for pre-defined response to reasonably anticipated emergencies, including:
- Power Disruptions
- Prolonged Water Outage
- Distribution System Failure
- Treatment Failure
- Disinfection Equipment Failure
- Pump Failure
- Loss of SCADA or Other Controls
- Contamination of Supply
- Chemical Incident at Facility
- Intrusion Event
- Drought
- Flooding
- Severe Weather
Additional Guidance and Emergency Response Plan Format Information
- Guidance on Water Supply Emergency Plan Revisions Due January 1, 2008 (June 11, 2007)
- Additional Guidance on Water Supply Emergency Plan Revisions Due January 1, 2008 (October 12, 2007)
- Emergency response plan and vulnerability assessment templates for small to medium size water systems are available from New York Rural Water Association.
- Boil Water Notices: Fact Sheet and Templates for Public Drinking Water Suppliers
Vulnerability Assessment Software
- Risk Assessment Methodologies for Water Utilities (RAM-W) – Sandia National Laboratories
- Standardized Emergency Management System (SEMS) – SEMS Technologies, LLC.
