Although the year 2000 has been a relatively quiet year for water supply emergencies in New York State, 1999 was a very active one. First, the drought in the central and eastern regions of the State affected many water systems, in many cases causing those involved to rethink their long-term source and transmission options. Then the double-whammy of Hurricanes Dennis and Floyd in September 1999, with wind damage and rainfall accumulations of as much as 17 inches, created widespread flooding in Southeastern New York. Power outages and water quality problems resulted.

Every year, the N.Y. State Department of Health receives reports of 35 to 100 emergencies in public water systems. While many emergencies involve water main breaks, incidents of ice storms, power outages, water quality and treatment breakdowns also occur.

How well are you prepared for an emergency? Do you have an emergency plan? Do you know if you are required to have one?

Since 1988, Section 1125 of the New York State Public Health Law has required community water systems with gross annual operating revenues exceeding $125,000 to have emergency plans, and to update the plans every five years. If we assume an average annual cost for water of $203, this means a system with about 615 residential services or a population of 2000, assuming an average family size of 3.25 persons, would need a plan to comply with the law. The purpose of the emergency plan is to insure that potable water is available during all phases of a water supply emergency.

The requirements of Section 1125 PHL are duplicated in regulations in Section 5-1.33 of the State Sanitary Code. Both require that the original plans be submitted to the State (your county or district health office) for approval by December 31, 1990 and be updated every five years thereafter. Plans must contain the following 12 provisions:

1. The development of procedures to notify consumers during all phases of a water supply emergency.
2. The development of criteria and procedures for determining and the subsequent reporting of critical water levels or safe yield of the source or sources of water.
3. The identification of existing and future sources of water available during normal non-emergency and water supply emergency conditions.
4. The identification of all available water storage includes source, transmission and distribution system storage.
5. The identification, capacity and location of existing inter-connections. Identification of additional inter-connections needed to provide potable water during a water supply emergency.
6. The development of a specific action plan outlining all the steps to be carried out, taken or followed during a water supply emergency, including State notification, emergency notification rosters of key water supply personnel with current telephone numbers, both business and home, and follow-up corrective action to minimize the reoccurrence of an emergency.
7. The identification and implementation of procedures for water conservation and water use restrictions to be put in place during a water supply emergency.
8. The identification of and the procedures for prioritization of potable water use during a water supply emergency.
9. The identification and availability of emergency equipment needed during a water supply emergency.
10. The development of criteria and procedures for determining and the subsequent reporting of the system’s capacity and ability to meet peak water demands and fire-flow conditions concurrently.
11. A vulnerability analysis shall be performed on the source or sources of water supply, the public water system, disinfection stations and water treatment plants to determine the vulnerability of these water supply components to a water supply emergency. The system shall take whatever steps are necessary to ensure that potable water can be and is available during a water supply emergency.
12. Before the final submission of the water supply emergency plan to the State, the system shall publish a notice in a newspaper of general circulation in the area served by the community water system stating that the proposed water supply emergency plan is available for review and comment. The notice shall be printed at least once in each of two successive weeks. Public comment shall be accepted for at least fourteen days following the date of first publication. All public comment shall be submitted with the water supply emergency plan to the State.

In addition, the smaller community water systems, non-transient non-community and non-community systems, may be required to prepare, submit and update a written plan to provide potable water during emergencies.

Now is the best time to prepare an emergency plan. Water systems should take advantage of the relatively quiet conditions this fall to be better prepared for winter emergencies. To assist communities in preparing emergency plans, the State Department of Health published a manual entitled Guidelines for the Preparation of An Emergency Plan for Community Water Supplies. The manual was distributed to all community water systems at the time of publication. If you need to prepare a plan and don’t have a copy of the manual, contact your county or district health office for assistance.