America's Water Infrastructure Act of 2018 Requirements
July 2nd, 2019
America’s Water Infrastructure Act (AWIA) was signed into law in October 2018. This amendment to the Safe Drinking Water Act requires that community water systems serving more than 3,300 people must develop or update Risk and Resiliency Assessments and Emergency Response Plans. This provision of AWIA is an update to the Bioterrorism Act of 2002 which focused primarily on acts of terrorism in the wake of 9/11. In addition to assets listed in the Bioterrorism Act, AWIA requires consideration of both malevolent acts and natural hazards that could compromise service as well as threats to source water.
The Risk and Resiliency Assessments are intended to inform the Emergency Response Plans. The primary requirements of each are listed here:
Risk and Resiliency Assessment Requirements
- Risks to the system from malevolent acts and natural hazards.
- Resiliency of the pipes and other components utilized by the system.
- Monitoring practices of the system.
- Operation and maintenance of the system.
- Chemical use, storage, and handling by the system.
- Financial infrastructure of the system.
Emergency Response Plan Requirements
- Strategies and resources to improve the resiliency of the system including physical and cyber security.
- Actions, procedures, and equipment which can lessen the impact of a malevolent act of natural hazard.
- Strategies that can be used to aid in the detection of malevolent acts or natural hazards.
- Plans and procedures that can be implemented or equipment that can be utilized in the event of a malevolent act of natural hazards.
Deadlines for these documents are based on the size of the population served (see table). Once submitted, these assessments and plans must be updated every five years.
Though there is additional work to be completed, much of this information has likely been collected through Vulnerability Assessments and recent resiliency testing. The first step in this process is to evaluate what information is readily available. If you would like to discuss next steps or get more information about AWIA Requirements, please contact out to Mike Ohl ([email protected]) or David Roman ([email protected]) with questions.
