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Related Topics:
  • Emergency Response for Drinking Water and Wastewater Utilities
Contact Us

Mutual Aid and Assistance for Drinking Water and Wastewater Utilities

On this page:
  • Learn about Water and Wastewater Agency Response Networks (WARN)
  • Join a WARN
  • Access WARN Resources
  • Access WARN Training Tools
  • Questions and Answers

A mutual aid and assistance network provides water and wastewater utilities with the means to quickly obtain help in the form of personnel, equipment, materials and associated services from other utilities to restore critical operations impacted during any type of emergency, big or small.

Becoming a member of a mutual aid and assistance network before an emergency occurs can make all the difference when your community’s water or wastewater system needs help. Use the resources below to ensure you have an effective support system in place.

Learn about 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 governed by a common mutual aid agreement. The WARN agreement allows utilities to share resources in a more expedited way, compared to other mechanisms that require a formal disaster declaration. The agreement spells out how liability, workers’ compensation, insurance and reimbursement will work. Other benefits include increased emergency preparedness and coordination, and enhanced access to specialized resources. Utility responders, once notified, are typically on the ground within 24 hours.

See the types of responses WARNs can be used for in the video below.

             

  "WARNS in Action"  presents the types of events in which WARNs can be utilized and discusses in detail one specific WARN response (runtime 2:47 min).

 

Join a WARN

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.

WARNs exist in 49 of the 50 states, as well as the National Capital Region. Follow the links in the table below for more information on how to join your state’s WARN.

State/Region

Name

Website

State/Region

Name

Website

Alabama*

ALWARN

--

Montana

MTWARN

https://montanawarn.wordpress.com/

Alaska

AKWARN

https://awwma.org/page/AKWARN

National Capital Region

NCRWARN

www.ncrwarn.org

Arizona

AzWARN

www.azwarn.org

Nebraska

NEWARN

www.newarn.org

Arkansas*

ARWARN

--

Nevada

NvWARN

www.nvwarn.org

California

CalWARN

www.calwarn.org

New Hampshire

NHPWMA

http://www.t2.unh.edu/ma/

Colorado

CoWARN

www.cowarn.org

New Jersey*

NJWARN

--

Connecticut

CtWARN

www.ctawwa.org/CtWARN

New Mexico

NM WARN

http://www.nmrwa.org/nmwarn

Delaware

DEWARN

www.drwa.org/dewarn

New York

NYWARN

www.nywarn.org

Florida

FlaWARN

https://flawarn.pwd.aa.ufl.edu/

North Carolina

NCWaterWARN

www.ncwaterwarn.org

Georgia

GAWARN

www.gawarn.org

North Dakota

NDWARN

www.ndwarn.org

Hawaii*

HIWARN

--

Ohio

OHWARN

www.ohwarn.org

Idaho

IdWARN

www.idwarn.org

Oklahoma

SoonerWARN

www.soonerwarn.org

Illinois

ILWARN

www.ilwarn.org

Oregon

ORWARN

www.orwarn.org

Indiana

InWARN

www.inwarn.org

Pennsylvania

PaWARN

www.pawarn.org

Iowa

IOWARN

www.iowarn.org

Rhode Island

RIWARN

www.riwarn.org

Kansas

KSMAP

www.ksmap.org

South Carolina

SCWARN

www.scwarn.org

Kentucky

KYWARN

www.kywarn.org

South Dakota

SDWARN

www.sdwarn.org

Louisiana*

LaWARN

https://lrwa.org/programs/

Tennessee

TNWARN

www.tnwarn.org

Maine

MEWARN

https://www.maine.gov/dhhs/mecdc/environmental-health/dwp/pws/meWARN.shtml

Texas

TXWARN

www.txwarn.org

Maryland

MDWARN

www.mdwarn.org

Utah

UTWARN

www.utwarn.org

Massachusetts

MaWARN

www.mawarn.org

Vermont

VTWARN

https://dec.vermont.gov/vtwarn

Michigan

MiWARN

--

Virginia

VA WARN

www.vawarn.org

Minnesota

MnWARN

www.mnwarn.org

Washington

WAWARN

www.wawarn.org

Mississippi

--

--

West Virginia

WV WARN

--

Missouri

MoWARN

https://mowarn.org/

Wisconsin

WIWARN

https://www.wiawwa.org/mpage/WIWARN_Homepage

Wyoming

WYOWARN

www.wyowarn.org

* These WARNs do not have websites. If interested in joining, please contact EPA at WSD-Outreach@epa.gov to obtain the WARN Chair contact information.


Access WARN Resources

Each intrastate WARN enters into a mutual aid and assistance agreement that best meets the member utility needs. These agreements clarify liability, reimbursement, response procedures and joint planning efforts. Standardized Mutual Aid and Assistance Agreement (doc) (109 KB) .

Promote WARN

  • Show the WARN video below to promote WARN at various conferences and meetings. 
 

 "EPA WARN"  presents an overview of the WARN program to help educate utilities who are interested in becoming members (runtime 5:39 min).

  • Print out and display the WARN poster at conferences or other events 

Explore the Value of a WARN Membership.

See the following documents on the value of WARN for different types of systems:

  • Small Water Systems: A Vital Component of WARN
  • Tribal Water Systems: A Vital Component of WARN
  • Wastewater Systems: A Vital Component of WARN
  • State Primacy Agencies: A Vital Component of WARN

See successful collaborations between state agencies and WARNs:

  • States and WARNs working together

Integrate WARN and other Mutual Agreements

  • Learn about Interstate Mutual Aid and Assistance by reading our factsheet on EMAC: Water Utilities and the Emergency Management Assistance Compact 
  • Learn about participating in multiple agreements to maximize the ability to obtain resources by reading: Integrating WARN and other Mutual Aid Agreements

Top of Page


Access WARN Training Tools

Learn about how tabletop exercises (TTX) can strengthen WARNs.

WARNs are strengthened by regular training and exercises. Use the materials below to help your WARN develop and execute a TTX.

Do It Yourself:

  • Download the Tabletop Exercise Tool
Contact Us to ask a question, provide feedback, or report a problem.
Last updated on March 24, 2022
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