PREPAREDNESS CORNER

Public Water System emergency preparedness is indeed a dynamic topic—it can be challenging for water system personnel to stay current with significant advancements in the field. The Preparedness Corner is intended to provide system personnel with the latest information pertaining to Alaska-specific preparedness developments.

News Feed:

Proposed Emergency Preparedness Regulation

The Alaska Drinking Water Program has drafted a new regulation aimed at enhancing water system preparedness; it is anticipated to be released for public comment in 2011.

The objective of the regulation is to inspire Public Water System personnel to develop a plan, which will ensure the continuation of drinking water availability in the event the standard system source and/or treatment method is compromised.

The regulation adopts a tiered approach, and assigns a greater degree of requirements to systems which serve a larger population. Consequently, based on population served, systems will be asked to adhere to one of two possible requirement tracks. The more intensive track involves the completion of a Security Vulnerability Assessment (VA) and Emergency Response Plan (ERP), and the less intensive track involves the completion of the 'Emergency Priority Measures Plan.' The Emergency Priority Measures Plan should be viewed as a partial ERP; it incorporates only two (communication procedures and alternate water source) of the eight core elements of a traditional ERP.

For information regarding the background and specific requirements of the proposed regulation, please refer to the below summary document:

Overview of the Proposed Regulation - COMING SOON !