Water and wastewater utilities face an increasingly complex set of threats, both natural and man-made, that can disrupt or even incapacitate utility services. One of the primary ways to be able to prepare for and respond to threats across the all-hazards landscape is to create emergency response plans.
An emergency response plan describes strategies, resources, plans, and procedures utilities can use to prepare for and respond to an incident, natural or man-made, that threatens life, property, or the environment, according to the EPA. Before creating an ERP, an organization should understand what negative events or incidents could happen. This is done by conducting a risk assessment, EPA offers guidance and resources on conducting these assessments for water and wastewater utilites.
Once organizations understand their risk, they can develop an ERP to ensure they have the resources and policies in place to prevent or more effectively respond to an incident. To help with creating an ERP, EPA has provided an ERP Template and Instructions. There are two versions of the ERP Template and Instructions PDF, one for drinking water systems and another for wastewater systems. The ERP Template and Instructions PDF document for water and wastewater utilities features an embedded blank ERP template in Word format that can be easily accessed and modified by utility personnel to meet their own utility’s needs. Additionally, many drinking water utilities are required to develop or update a risk and resilience assessments and ERPs to comply with Section 2013 of America's Water Infrastructure Act (AWIA) during the upcoming 2025-2026 AWIA cycle. Access the ERP template at EPA.
