Preparing Your Public Water System for a Natural Disaster
|
|
Being prepared for a natural disaster is the
first step in minimizing damages and losses, and ensuring
non-interruption of critical services. The Texas Commission on
Environmental Quality (TCEQ) offers the following tips to protect
your public water system.
General Preparation
- Work schedule should be adjusted so that key staff members are
onsite or can be reached to keep all services operational if the
facility remains online or to shutdown and startup facilities if
and when necessary.
- Establish and schedule emergency operations and clean up
crews.
- Review your emergency response plan and make sure it and
contacts are current.
- Notify the TCEQ Public Drinking Water Program at (512)
239-4691 if the system’s sampling schedule needs to
be adjusted.
- Notify and set up clear lines of communication with local
police and fire department, in case of an injury or other
emergencies. Request that local law enforcement check on any water
staff that remain on-site at the water plants. If communication
channels are down with these sites, this check needs to continue on
a routine basis until communication channels are
reestablished.
- If an emergency operating center or command post for the
utility is established, notify state and federal agencies of
locations and telephone numbers.
- Establish contacts to request emergency water supply, if
necessary.
- Make arrangements with the local power utility to be prepared
to disconnect power to the plant if the plant is evacuated or if
power lines are downed and then to restore power as a priority
customer.
- Make arrangements to purchase materials and supplies and to
borrow/lease heavy equipment needed to make repairs to the
plant.
- Make arrangements to have materials and chemicals delivered to
the plant as soon as it is safe and units are repaired and ready
for operation.
- Notify media on where to access information and press
advisories:
- Have a “Boil Water Notice” prepared, including
multilingual.
- Have “Emergency Disinfection of Drinking Water”
guidelines prepared. (see EPA link)
- Have a “Shelter-in-Place” guidelines ready in case
of release of hazardous materials. This is information to be
provided to the public that may need to remain indoors.
- Establish in advance a centralized base of operations with
first aid supplies, batteries, flashlights, and cellular phones or
other wireless communication devices. Check all normal and
emergency communication equipment and charge or replace
batteries.
- Stock an adequate supply of non-perishable food and water for
any essential personnel that are required to remain on site.
- Establish alternative transportation strategies for rotating in
core employees to the facility if high water prevents travel.
Personnel should bring a jump bag with them, which should contain
change of clothes, flashlights, extra batteries, medications, and
other essentials.
- Make sure all essential personnel are trained to shutdown and
startup system in case of emergency.
- Notify TCEQ regional offices if a plant is taken off-line. An
updated map and contact telephone numbers may be found at the
website listed below. The utility should access this site and
provide copies at all system facilities with the emergency response
plan.
TCEQ Regional Contact Info and Regional Map
- Review distribution maps to ensure they are up to date with
isolation valves properly identified. Extra copies may be necessary
for staff working in the field.
Grounds and Common
Areas
- Inspect plant perimeter for security concerns. Test backup
lights. For all water systems, check backup pumps and
controls.
- In addition to regular preventative maintenance, all systems
(surface, ground and purchased) should check backup chemical
feeders and all pumps and motors. Verify that spare pumps, motors
and other necessary spare parts are available. Check manual
controls and oil levels.
- Fuel and service vehicles. Stock service vehicles with
equipment and supplies, and move service vehicles to high
ground.
- Have sufficient supplies of sandbags available and sandbag the
entrances, the area around critical equipment, and other critical
areas.
- Ensure that emergency electrical generators are not located in
flood-prone areas of the facility. Obtain extra fuel for
generators, if needed.
- Board up critical windows and doors to prevent wind
damage.
- Shutdown exposed pipes at waterway crossings to prevent loss or
contamination of potable water if the pipes break.
Administration and Laboratory
Buildings
- Secure important records in a well-protected location,
including plant operations manual.
- Remove all sensitive laboratory equipment from the flood zone,
where possible. Remove portable electrical equipment and small
motors from the flood zone.
- Protect computers from potential leaks.
- Check bacteriological sampling materials- be prepared for
increased or special monitoring.
- Remove or store furnishings in a safe place, when
practical.
- Disconnect electrical power to the building if it is
evacuated.
Treatment Plant and Pumping
Stations
- Run diagnostic tests on SCADA and control systems.
- All pump stations should be located in a well-drained area and
be designed to remain in operation during flood events. If not, the
pumps should be shut down and protected from electrical damage if
they should become submerged. After any major storm event, check
raw water intakes to minimize any debris or other materials which
could enter. Any wells that were submerged must be disinfected
prior to returning to service.
- Double check that all piping in surface water treatment plants
is labeled according to color code as indicated in 30 TAC 290.42
(d)(13)(A).
- Check that all chemical bulk storage facility and day tanks are
properly labeled.
- Be sure all dry chemicals are stored off the floor in a dry
room that is protected against flooding or wetting from floors,
walls, and ceilings.
- Check chemical inventory. A storm event could cause greater
disinfectant demand, increased disinfection of broken waterlines
and an increase in turbidity, so more disinfectant and coagulant
chemicals may be required. Verify that the current supply of
calcium hypochlorite is adequate for this potential increased
use.
- Fill empty storage tanks in flood prone areas with water to
prevent floating or falling from wind forces.
- Remove or move chemicals to a safe area. If chemicals are
removed from an underground or above ground tank, fill the tank
with water to prevent floating.
- Remove fuel from underground storage tanks to prevent
contamination and loss of the fuel. If possible move above ground
fuel storage tanks to a safe, high area. Fuel will be needed for
emergency and plant vehicles until new supplies arrive.
- Remove electrical motors, where possible. If not, wrap the
motors in plastic and seal as tight as possible, in order to
protect the motor from silt, mud, and dirt. Any electrical motors
that were submerged, should be cleaned and dried prior to start up
to prevent damage.
- Remove shop tools and electrical hand tools to the emergency
operations center or command post.
- Monitor tank levels. Fill elevated and ground storage tanks to
full capacity. Storage tanks should be valved off from the
distribution system to prevent loss of water during the storm.
Note: If this is done, the system must issue a Boil Water Notice
because this can result in pressures dropping below 20 psi.
|
|
