Environmental Finance Center Network Hosts Two Useful Small System Webinars

EFCN Partners Host Several Useful Small Systems Webinars

The Environmental Finance Center Network (EFCN) receives funds from EPA to provide information and assistance for small systems.  While most of their efforts look within a system’s technical, managerial, or financial capabilities, the two webinars below look at planning and resilience efforts.

Managing Disasters Before Disasters Strike

DATE:              Wednesday, October 10, 2018

TIME:               1:00PM-2:00PM (eastern)

REGISTER:      Click here

This webinar will explore emergency management and resilience strategies that can help small systems prepare for disasters. Discussions will cover trends in hazards, critical infrastructure stressors, and what steps small systems can take to adapt to an uncertain future.

Risk and Resilience: Assessing Vulnerability for Coastal Communities

DATE:              Friday, November 2, 2018

TIME:               1:00PM-2:00PM (eastern)

REGISTER:      Click here

In light of an ever-changing climate and increasingly stressed infrastructure, we must take steps towards preventing and mitigating the duration and severity of water service interruptions. This webinar will discuss the importance of understanding risk, explore what it means to be a resilient coastal system, and suggest strategies for conducting basic vulnerability assessments.

Don’t Get Left Out in the Cold

 As you know, our colleagues at EPA’s Water Security Division have put together a series of Incident Action Checklists.  Last month, we talked about two new additions for HABs and Cybersecurity.  This month, we’re taking a look back at one of the earlier published checklists.

Now that colder weather seems to have arrived across much of the country, it may be time to remind your water utilities that there’s also a checklist that deals with Extreme Cold and Winter Storms.  This checklist outlines possible winter cold impacts for a water system such as loss of power, pipe breaks, and source water impacts from road salt.  The document also puts appropriate response and recovery actions into a checklist format that communities should find useful.  Generally divided into segments of planning, coordination, communications, personnel, power and fuel, and service areas, the eight-page document is a handy quick reference for water and wastewater systems.  It also has a useful reference links list for more information.  Take a look at the checklist here.

 

 

EPA Drought Guide Now Includes Response Template

EPA’s Drought Guide, originally published in March of 2016, is an interactive tool designed to assist small- to medium-sized water utilities with responding to drought. The guide, which includes best practices and customizable worksheets, focuses on short-term emergency drought mitigation actions that also build long-term resilience to drought.

Based on feedback gathered from stakeholders, the Guide has been revised to include a new Drought Response Plan Template. This template offers a step-by-step approach to creating a response plan in a customizable, fillable format.

The expanded Guide continues to include an interactive drought case studies map, a multimedia GeoPlatform website documenting, in both video and written form, the unique stories of seven utilities across the country that have responded successfully to extreme drought conditions. Two new case studies are in the works and should be viewable by the end of the year.

You may download the updated Drought Response and Recovery Guide and Template at: www.epa.gov/waterutilityresponse/drought-response-and-recovery-for-water-utilities

Questions? Please contact EPA’s Dawn Ison at 513-569-7686 or by email at ison.dawn@epa.gov

 

EPA WSD Releases New Response On-the-Go Mobile App

 

 

  EPA’s Response On-The-Go Mobile Application provides users with real-time access to valuable tools and response information including location-based hazardous weather updates, interactive maps and charts from the National Weather Service and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and EPA Incident Action Checklists that outline disaster-specific response actions.

During hurricanes, tornadoes, power outages and other emergencies, water utility personnel and first line responders must ensure that they are coordinating closely with stakeholders, maintaining awareness of threats to the water system and surrounding community, and documenting response actions. The App can be downloaded for free for use on a variety mobile devices and tablets. For more information, visit https://www.epa.gov/waterutilityresponse/water-utility-response-go-mobile-application-and-website

Are You Ready for a Tornado?

As part of the month-long PrepareAthon! effort, EPA’s Water Security Division invites you to take a look at their Tornado Incident Action Checklist.  Do take that look.  Don’t presume that just because you don’t live in Tornado Alley that it won’t happen to you.  About two weeks ago, a small tornado tore through Northern Virginia taking down trees and taking off roofs.  This happened less than a mile from the Pentagon.  And, although the Commonwealth of Virginia is well known for many things, tornado activity is not among them!  It happened anyway!

The eight page doc includes links to numerous resources, a step-wise walk through activities related to planning, response and recovery, and thought provoking considerations for how to think about coordination, communication with customers, water system personnel concerns, and power, energy, and fuel needs.  There are also contact and checklists that water systems can complete.  Here’s the link to a downloadable version of the Incident Action Checklist for Tornadoes.  https://www.epa.gov/sites/production/files/2015-06/documents/tornado.pdf

EPA Shares PrepareAthon! Information and Resources

America’s PrepareAthon! is a grassroots campaign for action to increase community preparedness and resilience.  This year’s PrepareAthon! Takes place throughout the month of April.  This link https://community.fema.gov/news?lang=en_US will take you to more information about preparedness and the PrepareAthon! Initiative.

In support of PrepareAthon!, EPA’s Water Security Division has also been working on preparedness and resiliency for the Water Sector.  Take a look at the materials that they have prepared and shared (including helpful case studies) on flooding, drought, tornadoes, and hurricanes.  The tips found in these materials can be just what a water utility needs to get started or expand an effort that they already have underway to enhance their resiliency.  Click https://www.epa.gov/waterresilience/water-utilities-take-part-americas-prepareathon to learn more about EPA’s resources.  This link also has registration information for the May 3 Route to Resilience webinar for utilities.  You may recall that the state-focused webinar on this subject was held February 28.

EPA’s Regional Water Teams

Did you know that EPA has a dedicated “Water Team” for each Region to provide support to states and utilities in times of emergency?

Regional Water Teams (RWTs) consist of trained EPA Regional staff from the drinking water, wastewater, and emergency response programs. RWT members have a background and specialized training in relevant EPA roles and authorities, drinking water and wastewater systems, the Incident Command System (ICS)/National Incident Management System (NIMS), and field health and safety considerations.  RWTs can serve as a liaison with the state primacy agency and Federal Agencies such as FEMA; assist with sampling and analyses; and conduct needs assessments among a wide array of support tasks.

The list below identifies the Water Team Lead for each of EPA’s 10 Regions (use the arrow keys at the bottom to scroll over to email addresses).

Water Team Leads

Region	Name	Phone	e-mail
1	Jane Downing	617-918-1571	downing.jane@epa.gov
2	Arlene Anderson	212-637-3879	anderson.arlene@epa.gov
3	Patti-Kay Wisniewski	215-814-5668	wisniewski.patti-kay@epa.gov
4	David Apanian	404-562-9477	apanian.david@epa.gov
5	Alicia Brown	312-886-4443	brown.alicia@epa.gov
6	Mark McCasland	214-665-8088	mccasland.mark@epa.gov
7	Ken Deason	913-551-7585	deason.ken@epa.gov
8	Michael Copeland	303-312-6010	copeland.michael@epa.gov
9	Bruce Macler	415 972-3569	macler.bruce@epa.gov
10	Johnny Clark	206-553-6904	clark.johnny@epa.gov

 

Week 4 – National Critical Infrastructure Security & Resilience Month

The theme for the final week of this month-long initiative is TAKE ACTION.  Take action today to help prepare utilities for emergencies.

Drinking water and wastewater utilities can take steps to adapt to the increasing frequency and severity of extreme weather events.  One helpful approach is use of the Climate Resilience Evaluation and Awareness Tool (CREAT).  It is a climate risk assessment and planning application for water, wastewater, and stormwater utilities.  Use CREAT to understand the impacts of climate change, assess adaptation options, and conduct cost-benefit analyses of risk reduction strategies.

Use this link https://www.epa.gov/crwu/build-climate-resilience-your-utility to access CREAT and begin to strengthen your understanding today!  Also, don’t forget to share the 1-minute public service announcement – Be aware, Be prepared, Protect Critical Water Infrastructure –video at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SWGKHRxzonI.

For more preparedness tools and resources, please go to epa.gov/waterresilience

 

Financing Recovery and Mitigation – A Free Webinar Series

EPA is hosting two new webinars that showcase available funding for both disaster recovery efforts and resilience mitigation projects.

Disaster Recovery Financing

DATE:              November 22

TIME:               1:00-2:30PM (eastern)

REGISTER:      https://www.eventbrite.com/e/disaster-recovery-financing-tickets-28791523221

This event describes how states and communities use SRF, FEMA, and other financing approaches to recover from a disaster. Utility and state speakers will share tips and examples.

Resilience Mitigation Financing

DATE:              December 7

TIME:               1:00-2:30PM (eastern)

REGISTER:      https://www.eventbrite.com/e/resilience-mitigation-financing-tickets-28791849196

This event focuses on tools and financing resources to conduct resilience planning and to mitigate impacts before a disaster strikes. Utilities will share stories about investing in resilient infrastructure.

 

November is National Critical Infrastructure Security and Resilience Month

Our colleagues at EPA’s Water Security Division invite states and water utilities to take special efforts during National Critical Infrastructure Security and Resilience Month to be better prepared for emergencies.  Each week during November, EPA will share information about a different area of focus for enhanced security and resilience.

This week’s focus is Risk Assessment.  A vital step on the path to resilience is identifying a utility’s vulnerabilities.  Water and wastewater utilities can identify risks using the Vulnerability Self-Assessment Tool (VSAT).  VSAT can help utilities identify the highest risks to mission-critical operations and find cost-effective risk reduction strategies.  This link https://www.epa.gov/waterriskassessment/conduct-drinking-water-or-wastewater-utility-risk-assessment will take you to a downloadable version of VSAT.

More information about water security and resilience  is available at https://www.epa.gov/waterresilience/celebrate-national-critical-infrastructure-security-and-resilience-month.  Next week’s focus area will be “Get Ready – Conduct an emergency response exercise.”  Subsequent focus areas will look at community resiliency and risk reduction strategies.