WATER UTILITIES AND EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS PLANNING

摘要

It is safe to say that most people in the United States (U.S.) became more aware after 9/11 of the necessity of structures that make critical services available to communities. Prominent on that list are facilities that yield clean drinking water and facilities that take back the used water from households and business. The need for protection of facilities is great with more than 160,000 public water systems supplying drinking water to some 300 million plus people in the U.S. Water utilities owners and operators realize the importance of preparing for emergencies and many, in times of natural disasters such as floods, hurricanes, and earthquakes, utilized existing emergency response plans and learned how to improve those after such events. Prior to 9/11, many other facilities, however, did not have plans, participate in emergency response exercises, or had assessed their vulnerabilities to outside attack or natural disasters. Consequently, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) and other federal, state, and local agencies have worked since 9/11 to provide guidance on emergency preparedness for local assets that may be vulnerable, in order to protect workers and structures, and to assure continuation of services. Other disasters, such those caused by the northeast blackout (from New York to Michigan) and Hurricane Katrina, reinforce the requirement for reliable, operational, emergency planning and response systems.