Rural Water - Quarter 3, 2017 - 13
AS HARD AS IT IS, YOU HAVE TO HAVE WATER AND WASTEWATER BEFORE YOU CAN ALLOW PEOPLE TO COME BACK INTO THEIR COMMUNITIES. YOU HAVE TO MAKE SURE THAT IT'S SAFE. - Pat Credeur, Executive Director, Louisiana Rural Water Association i In 2004, four major hurricanes hit Florida over a six-week period. That proved to be a wake-up call for the state. "It was a realization that all of the associations here in the state that represent water and wastewater needed to work together to develop a network of utilities helping utilities," said Gary Williams, executive director of the Florida Rural Water Association (FRWA). Out of that came the Florida Water Agency Response Network, with FRWA at the forefront since it has staff while other state water associations are volunteer-run. The 2004 storms left something else in their wake: a realization that the state association needed to purchase equipment and conduct training sessions for its members. It was an understanding that the Alabama Rural Water Association had come to a decade before when Hurricane Opal struck hard in Alabama in 1995. Not only does Alabama grapple with hurricanes on the Gulf Coast, but it also endures tornadoes, floods and droughts. In the 1990s, ARWA began working with the Alabama Emergency Management Agency as a first responder and Hurricane Opal was their first practice drill in emergency preparedness and response. "As a member service organization, we want to be prepared and ready to respond and help our members in any way that we can," said Kathy Horne, ARWA's executive director. "This is one of the association's services that is most helpful to our members in making sure that we are ready and prepared to assist them in a time of crisis and need. We learned so much from the Hurricane Opal experience and have tried to build upon our efforts continuously since then." Staying ahead of the storm Water and wastewater are vital services, and restoring them is often the first step in helping a community recover after a disaster. "As hard as it is, you have to have water and wastewater before you can allow people to come back into their communities," said Pat Credeur, Louisiana Rural Water Association's executive director. "You have to make sure that it's safe." Louisiana was affected by the 2005 hurricane season, when Rita and Katrina came ashore. "When there's a disaster, you can't start trying to do preparedness the day after a storm," Credeur said. "You have to have a game plan and know what to do first. Second, where are your council or board members so you can get them to make decisions?" With the 2005 storms-and again in 2012 when Isaac came ashore-a lot of the system operations specialists found themselves making decisions on their own because other community leaders had evacuated and were unreachable, Credeur said. Gathering those all-important contact numbers is a good place to start in any disaster plan. Be sure to update them at least annually. "It's important between disasters that you maintain an accurate database of information necessary for successful emergency response to occur." Horne said. "Current and accurate utility and first-responder contact information, as well as resource location and availability for utilities, is critical. In order to respond RURAL WATER 13
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