Water and Wastewater Technical Assistance
EPA’s Office of Water Emergency Response and Cybersecurity (OWERC) provides technical assistance (TA) to help water and wastewater utilities increase their resilience to malevolent acts and natural hazards. The sections below describe types of TA that may be helpful to your utility.
For a full list of OWERC’s water resilience resources, visit its Water Resilience Products and Services List. For a full list of EPA’s water TA programs, visit its WaterTA website.
Cybersecurity
Implementing basic cyber hygiene practices can help your utility prevent, detect, respond to, and recover from cyber incidents. EPA cybersecurity experts are available to assist you with this process. Learn more about Cybersecurity Resilience.
Request Cybersecurity Technical Assistance
Request a Cybersecurity Assessment
Natural Hazards
Through OWERC’s Strengthening Water Infrastructure for Tomorrow (SWIFT) initiative, drinking water, wastewater, and stormwater utility owners and operators can receive one-on-one, no-cost technical assistance to increase system resilience to natural hazards and disasters. Learn more about SWIFT.
Request SWIFT Technical Assistance
Planning for Emergencies
EPA experts can help your utility prepare for a disaster with technical assistance on preparedness, response, mutual aid networks, emergency response plans, emergency exercises, and disaster mitigation strategies. Learn more about Planning for Emergencies.
Request for Planning for Emergencies Technical Assistance
Emergency Drinking Water Supply
Destruction, impairment, or contamination of the public water supply can require provision of alternative sources of potable water (e.g., bottled, hauled). EPA can assist state primacy agencies and utilities with preparing Emergency Drinking Water Supply (EDWS) plans. Learn more about Emergency Drinking Water Supply.
Request Emergency Drinking Water Supply Technical Assistance
Planning for Contamination
Contamination in a source water or within the distribution system can disrupt water services to customers, impacting public health and a community's economy. EPA can assist utilities with preparing for, responding to, or recovering from drinking water contamination incidents. Learn more about Contamination Preparedness and Response.
Request Emergency Drinking Water Supply Technical Assistance
Supply Chain Resilience
Supply chain disruptions can disrupt treatment and other critical operations for water and wastewater utilities. EPA can assist utilities with preparing for potential supply disruptions or responding to disruptions that are currently in progress. Learn more about Supply Chain Resilience.