Does your water system serve a population of more than 3,300 people?
The America's Water Infrastructure Act (AWIA) of 2018 REQUIRES drinking water utilities who sell water through meters and serve more than 3,300 people to complete a risk and resilience assessment (RRA) of their water utility and water system components and create or revise their emergency response plan (ERP).
What is a Risk and Resilience Assessment (RRA)?
An RRA is a vulnerability assessment of your water utility and water system components, taking an “all-hazards approach” when completing the evaluation. This approach considers natural hazards and malevolent acts and will help utilities determine where their water systems might be vulnerable to unauthorized access, potential threats and disaster situations.
An RRA evaluates:
• vulnerabilities, threats and consequences from potential hazards, such as:
- natural hazards
- resilience of pipes
- physical barriers
- water sources
• monitoring practices
• financial/billing systems
• chemical storage and handling
• operation and maintenance.
What is an Emergency Response Plan (ERP)?
An ERP is a plan that considers strategies, procedures, actions and/or resources to respond to issues identified in the RRA and enhances the resilience of the water system's physical security and cybersecurity. The results of the RRA then should guide the development or revision of the ERP.
An ERP includes:
• strategies and resources to improve resilience including physical security and cybersecurity
• plans and procedures for responding to a natural hazard that threatens safe drinking water
• actions and equipment to lessen the impact of a hazard (alternative water sources, relocating intakes and flood protection barriers)
• strategies to detect hazards that threaten your system.
Deadlines for RRAs and ERPs are based on communities' populations, with RRA deadlines for communities of 50,000 or more having passed and their ERP deadline being June, 30, 2021.
Next up: populations of 3,301 - 49,999.
Both RRAs and ERPs can be self-certified by utility staffs prior to submitting certification of completion to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The EPA has detailed information on their website.
Please be aware that while ERPs are due six months after RRAs, the clock starts ticking on ERPs six months from the day communities certify their RRA is completed, meaning if community leaders certify their RRA earlier than the June 30 deadline, the six-month timeframe to complete their ERP starts from the date the RRA is certified as complete.
While you are not required to submit the actual RRA or ERP, you will be held to the applicable deadlines to certify that you have, in fact, completed the tasks.
Need assistance with your RRA or ERP?
The Wessler team can help!
Wessler staff can help facilitate your water system’s completion of its RRA by assisting in identifying key considerations, including water system components that need to be assessed. Additionally, the Wessler team can help your water utility staff utilize its RRA to develop or revise its ERP and ensure your water utility maintains compliance with the AWIA.
For more information on the AWIA's requirements and technical assistance, contact Kurt Wanninger at KurtW@wesslerengineering.com or 317-788-4551.