Emergency Preparedness & Planning

Providing clean drinking water during emergencies is critical and it is a role that the region's water providers take seriously. The Consortium is working to improve communication and coordination between water providers and regional emergency managers to ensure reliable and safe drinking water during an emergency.

The Emergency Planning Committee was formed in 2001 to carry out the emergency preparedness goals outlined in the Consortium's strategic plan. Since then, the committee has accomplished the following:

• Developed a water providers emergency contact list
• Ensured all water providers had interagency agreements with neighboring water providers so that they can provide resources to each other
• Brought emergency managers and public information staff together to network
• Trained water provider staff in Incident Command System (ICS)
• Conducted three regional table top exercises geared toward improving coordination and communication during an emergency
• Identified regional needs and explored grant opportunities
• Participated in the development of the Oregon Water/Wastewater Agency Response Network (ORWARN)
• Coordinated with other emergency response and county agencies
• Facilitated a discussion on regional and emergency interconnections to ensure the efficient use of our multiple water sources in the region and provide back–up water supplies

In 2008, a total of six Portable water distribution systems will be deployed around the region. These systems are an important tool to water providers and emergency response agencies to help provide water to citizens during an emergency. The development of a Regional Emergency Water Distribution Plan that provides guidance on how to deploy, operate and maintain emergency water distribution systems will be completed in spring 2008.

On September 22, 2010 the Regional Water Providers Consortium hosted a demonstration of the emergency water distribution system.  The Consortium's media partner KATU was there with a camera and reporter to put together a story for the evening news.