Documents to Guide Remediation
EPA has several templates and guidance resources to help utilities respond to all-hazards water contamination. These can aid the remediation process during incident response.
Emergency Response Plan (ERP) Template
An ERP describes a utility’s strategies, resources, plans, and procedures to prepare for and respond to an incident, natural or man-made, that threatens life, property, or the environment. Incidents can range from small main breaks or localized flooding to large scale hurricanes, earthquakes, or system contamination, among other examples. The template and instructions will assist drinking water and wastewater utilities with developing an ERP.
Risk Communication Guidance
Risk communication is communication intended to provide a general or specific audience with the information they need to make informed, independent judgments about risks to their health, safety, and the environment. EPA has guidance on the processes of risk assessment, risk management, and risk communication and crisis communication during incident response.
Learn more about Risk Communication
Develop a Risk Communication Plan
Public Notification Handbook
The purpose of this handbook is to explain EPA’s Public Notification Rule and provide examples of effective public notices. This handbook is designed to meet the needs of public water systems of all sizes. Public water utilities are required by law to prepare and distribute public notification to consumers for water quality issues. This resource may be used during evaluation and implementation of public risk management communication options in coordination with public health officials.
Access the Public Notification Handbook
Waste Management Planning
EPA provides public and private emergency planners, managers and responders with all-hazards waste management information including pre-incident waste management planning, the decision-making process during incident response, and waste management options.
Start the Waste Management Planning Process
Containment and Disposal of Large Amounts of Contaminated Water: A Support Guide for Water Utilities (Disposal Guide)
The information and recommendations in this guide were developed primarily for drinking water, wastewater and stormwater utility personnel involved in response activities. Decision-makers involved with emergency response planning, such as emergency management agencies, environmental agencies, public health agencies and law enforcement, as well as other federal, state, local and tribal agencies, may also find the information and recommendations in this guide useful as a reference source.
Resources to Prepare for a Contamination Incident
How Can Water Utilities Obtain Critical Assets to Support Decontamination Activities?
This fact sheet helps utilities and emergency responders identify assets that are critical to completing decontamination activities and then obtain those critical assets.
Laboratory Resources for the Water Sector to Support Decontamination Activities
This fact sheet gives an overview of how utilities can locate laboratory resources with the capability and capacity to analyze water samples for a wide array of chemical, biological, and radiological contaminants during an incident response.
Access the laboratory resources fact sheet
EPA’s Environmental Resilience Tools Wizard
The Environmental Resilience Tools Wizard (ERTW) contains tools produced by EPA that address environmental concerns in disaster mitigation, preparedness, response, and recovery. The ERTW contains publicly available tools produced by EPA, including scientific models, guidance documents, case studies, checklists, datasets, fact sheets, and technical support that address environmental concerns that may arise in disasters, including air quality, water quality, ecosystems, sustainability, and waste. Tools in the ERTW may be used for different types of disasters and during different stages of disaster mitigation.
Find publicly available tools on ERTW
Get Assistance During Incident Response
Water Laboratory Alliance (WLA)
Water Laboratory Alliance (WLA) is a nationwide network of laboratories that helps additional laboratories and utilities respond to water contamination events involving chemical, biological, and radiochemical contaminants. The WLA also offers a host of free tools, resources, and best practices to help facilitate successful and timely incident responses, including guidance documents and live and online learning opportunities.
Compendium of Environmental Testing Laboratories (Laboratory Compendium)
EPA’s Laboratory Compendium is intended to assist state, local and federal emergency response partners, laboratory personnel, and water utility personnel in responding to all-hazards water contamination. The Laboratory Compendium is a secure, Web-based tool which provides users with real-time data related to laboratory contact, capability, and capacity information. Using the online Laboratory Compendium, emergency responders can quickly identify laboratories with capabilities to support surveillance, monitoring, and incident-specific response from anywhere. Laboratory services can be searched based on criteria such as location, laboratory name or type, ERLN status, matrix type, specific analytical capabilities, support services, special sample handling, and mobility.
Learn more about the Laboratory Compendium
Water and Wastewater Response Network (WARN)
Water and Wastewater Agency Response Networks (WARNs) are comprised of "utilities helping utilities" within a state that respond to and recover from emergencies by sharing resources with one another. WARNs are built on a strong base of utility members. All types of water utilities – drinking water, wastewater, public, private, large and small – can benefit from joining their state WARN.
Fed FUNDS
Fed FUNDS presents information tailored to water and wastewater utilities on federal disaster and mitigation funding programs from EPA, FEMA, HUD, and SBA.