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Emergency Planning Guidance: Public and Private Water Utilities

NCJ Number
202908
Date Published
March 1999
Length
197 pages
Annotation
This guide is intended to improve coordination among California water utilities and other emergency response agencies and to assist water utilities in developing or revising emergency plans and procedures; it also assists public water utilities of all sizes in implementing the Standardized Emergency Management System.
Abstract
The guide facilitates a planned response to emergency situations that include natural disasters, technological incidents, and national security emergencies in or impacting a water utility facility and its service area. Most of the 14 major sections of the guide have 3 parts. One part discusses the need for the topic covered and provides guidance for developing the particular parts of an emergency plan. Another part provides examples of what other agencies have done or suggests how to use the information provided in the section. A third part of the section provides a worksheet that can be used to draft or outline a portion of an emergency plan. The sections of the guide address pre-emergency planning and emergency operations, along with the emergency management organization needed to mitigate any significant emergency or disaster that affects the water utility. Policies, responsibilities, and procedures required to protect the health and safety of water utility personnel and facility property are discussed as well. Other topics covered are the operational concepts and procedures that pertain to field response to emergencies, Emergency Operation Center activities, and the recovery process; establishment of the framework for implementing the Standardized Emergency Management System; and multiagency and multijurisdictional coordination of emergency operations, particularly between the water utility and local, State, and Federal agencies. 12 references and appended checklists, sample materials, and pertinent California legislation