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Water Resilience

America's Water Infrastructure Act: Risk Assessments and Emergency Response Plans

On October 23, 2018, America's Water Infrastructure Act (AWIA) was signed into law. AWIA Section 2013 requires community (drinking) water systems serving more than 3,300 people to develop or update risk assessments and emergency response plans (ERPs). The law specifies the components that the risk assessments and ERPs must address, and establishes deadlines by which water systems must certify to EPA completion of the risk assessment and ERP. The Federal Register Notice for New Risk Assessments and Emergency Response Plans for Community Water Systems is available. 

For more information concerning America's Water Infrastructure Act, please  see https://www.congress.gov/bill/115th-congress/senate-bill/3021/text Exit

On this page:

Certification Deadlines

Population Served

Risk  and Resilience

Assessment

Next 5-Year Cycle

Submission Date          

≥100,000

March 31, 2020 March 31, 2025

50,000-99,999

December 31, 2020 December 31, 2025

3,301-49,999

June 30, 2021 June 30, 2026
Population Served

Emergency Response

 Plan*

Next 5-Year Cycle 

Submission Date*

≥100,000 September 30, 2020 September 30, 2025
50,000-99,999 June 30, 2021 June 30, 2026
3,301-49,999 December 31, 2021 December 31, 2026

*Emergency response plan certifications are due six months from the date of the risk assessment certification. The dates shown above are certification dates based on a utility submitting a risk assessment on the final due date. 

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Risk and Resilience Assessment Requirements and Assistance Resources

Each community water system serving a population of greater than 3,300 persons shall assess the risks to, and resilience of, its system. Such an assessment shall include:

  1. the risk to the system from malevolent acts and natural hazards;
  2. the resilience of the pipes and constructed conveyances, physical barriers, source water, water collection and intake, pretreatment, treatment, storage and distribution facilities, electronic, computer, or other automated systems (including the security of such systems) which are utilized by the system;
  3. the monitoring practices of the system;
  4. the financial infrastructure of the system;
  5. the use, storage, or handling of various chemicals by the system; and
  6. the operation and maintenance of the system.

The assessment may include an evaluation of capital and operational needs for risk and resilience management for the system.

Risk and Resilience Assessment Assistance Resources

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Emergency Response Plan Requirements and Assistance Resource

No later than six months after certifying completion of its risk and resilience assessment, each system must prepare or revise, where necessary, an emergency response plan that incorporates the findings of the assessment.  The plan shall include:

  1. strategies and resources to improve the resilience of the system, including the physical security and cybersecurity of the system;
  2. plans and procedures that can be implemented, and identification of equipment that can be utilized, in the event of a malevolent act or natural hazard that threatens the ability of the community water system to deliver safe drinking water;
  3. actions, procedures and equipment which can obviate or significantly lessen the impact of a malevolent act or natural hazard on the public health and the safety and supply of drinking water provided to communities and individuals, including the development of alternative source water options, relocation of water intakes and construction of flood protection barriers; and
  4. strategies that can be used to aid in the detection of malevolent acts or natural hazards that threaten the security or resilience of the system.

Community water systems shall to the extent possible coordinate with local emergency planning committees established under the Emergency Planning and Community Right-To-Know Act of 1986 when preparing or revising an assessment or emergency response plan under the AWIA. Further, systems must maintain a copy of the assessment and emergency response plan for five years after certifying the plan to the EPA.

Emergency Response Plan Guidance

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Certification Process

Each community water system serving a population of 3,301 people or greater, must certify the completion of its risk and resilience assessment or emergency response plan for every individual PWSID number.  Your PWSID number should be nine characters with no spaces. 

When determining population served in relationship to risk and resilience assessment and emergency response plan certification statement submittal dates, community water system wholesalers should account for the entire population(s) served of the community or communities to which they sell or provide water. The risk and resilience assessment or emergency response plan certification requirements of this law also applies to those community water systems with consecutive connections that individually serve less than 3,301 people, but their aggregate population served is greater than 3,300 people due to the additional populations that the system sells to.

Three options are available for risk assessment and emergency response plan certification submittals:

1) user-friendly, secure online portal
2) email
3) regular mail 
 

America's Water Infrastructure Act Section 2013 Compliance Data

The link below lists the community drinking water systems impacted by the risk and resilience assessment and emergency response plan certification requirements under Section 2013 of AWIA, as well as data on the community drinking water systems that have complied with the law.

Access AWIA Section 2013 Compliance Data

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Third-Party Standards

The EPA does not require water systems to use any designated standards, methods or tools to conduct the risk and resilience assessments or to prepare the emergency response plans required under AWIA Section 2013. Rather, community water systems must conduct risk and resilience assessments and prepare emergency response plans that meet the specific requirements outlined under AWIA Section 2013.

Community water systems may use any standards, methods or tools that aid the system in meeting the requirements of AWIA Sections 2013(a) and (b). However, regardless of the use of any standard, method or tool, the community water system is responsible for ensuring that its risk and resilience assessment and emergency response plan fully address all AWIA requirements.

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Final Disposition of Bioterrorism Act Vulnerability Assessments

Note: Due to COVID-19, we are unable to process vulnerability assessment return requests. When we are able to resume processing the requests, we will send an email with a tracking number to confirm the request has been processed.

Title IV of the Public Health Security and Bioterrorism Preparedness and Response Act of 2002 (Bioterrorism Act) amended the Safe Water Drinking Act by adding new sections 1433 through 1435 pertaining to improving the security of the nation’s drinking water infrastructure. Section 1433 of the Bioterrorism Act required each community water system serving a population greater than 3,300 persons to conduct a vulnerability assessment, certify completion of its assessment and submit a written copy to the EPA where it would be stored in a secure location. These assessments are now greater than 10 years old and therefore pursuant to EPA’s Records Management Policy, the EPA can retire the certifications and assessments.

The EPA intends to retire the vulnerability assessments. Utilities may request the EPA return their vulnerability assessments in lieu of destruction. If utilities wish their documents returned, they may submit a letter to the EPA by email. Please email the request letter to WSD-Outreach@epa.gov on utility letterhead and include the following information: utility name, PWS ID#, address and point of contact information for the individual who will be responsible for receiving the vulnerability assessment. To request the return of the vulnerability assessment prior to destruction, the community water system will need to make the request not later than the initial date by which the community water system must certify a risk and resilience assessment to EPA as required under Section 1433(a) of the Safe Drinking Water Act as amended by section 2013 of AWIA

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AWIA Risk Assessment and Emergency Response Plan Workshop

EPA is hosting free, virtual AWIA Workshops to help community water systems learn about the requirements of AWIA. The workshops contain three modules that participants may register for individually:

  • Module 1 - Section 2013 Requirements, Certification, and Section 2018 Basics
  • Module 2 - Risk and Resilience Assessments: Malevolent Acts, Natural Hazards, and the Small Systems Checklist
  • Module 3 - Emergency Response Plan Template and Guidance

Who Should Attend: These virtual workshops are designed for community water systems serving 3,301-99,999 people. However, all community water systems, as well as vendors and consultants, especially those who are assisting community water systems in achieving AWIA requirements, are welcome to attend. We also invite those who would like to lead their own AWIA workshops (e.g. technical assistance providers) to attend in a “Train-the-Trainer” capacity. In this role you can observe the workshops and receive presentation materials with speaker’s notes. At the end of Module 3, we will host a 30-minute Train-the-Trainer session to answer questions about using the materials provided to host your own workshops.

EPA is in the process of obtaining state approvals for 1.5 Continuing Education Units (CEUs) per module. Please note, you are not guaranteed credits for attending while we wait for state approvals.

Participants can register for upcoming workshops at the following registration links:

EPA Region Date Workshop Module Time Registration Link
2 1/12/21 Module 1 1:30pm-3:00pm EST Register HereExit
2 1/13/21 Module 2 1:30pm-3:00pm EST Register HereExit
2 1/14/21 Module 3 1:30pm-3:00pm EST** Register HereExit
3 1/25/21 Module 1 10:30am-12:00pm EST Register HereExit
3 1/27/21 Module 2 10:30am-12:00pm EST Register HereExit
3 1/28/21 Module 3 10:30am-12:00pm EST** Register HereExit
1 2/2/21 Module 1 10:30am-12:00pm EST Register HereExit
1 2/3/21 Module 2 10:30am-12:00pm EST Register HereExit
1 2/4/21 Module 3 10:30am-12:00pm EST** Register HereExit
7 2/16/21 Module 1 1:00pm-2:30pm CST Register HereExit
7 2/17/21 Module 2 1:00pm-2:30pm CST Register HereExit
7 2/18/21 Module 3 1:00pm-2:30pm CST Register HereExit
6 2/22/21 Module 1 1:00pm-2:30pm CST Register HereExit
6 2/23/21 Module 2 1:00pm-2:30pm CST Register HereExit
6 2/24/21 Module 3 1:00pm-2:30pm CST Register HereExit
8 3/9/21 Module 1 8:00am-9:30am MST Register HereExit
8 3/10/21 Module 2 8:00am-9:30am MST Register HereExit
8 3/11/21 Module 3 8:00am-9:30am MST Register HereExit
10 3/23/21 Module 1 10:00am-11:30am PST Register HereExit
10 3/24/21 Module 2 10:00am-11:30am PST Register HereExit
10 3/25/21 Module 3 10:00am-11:30am PST Register HereExit

*If you are attending as a trainer, please plan for an additional 30-minute Q&A session at the end of Module 3.

Past workshops from the fall 2020-spring 2021 AWIA workshop series:

EPA Region Date
9 11/2/20-11/5/20
5 11/10/20-11/13/20
4 11/17/20-11/19/20

For more information about EPA’s AWIA Workshops, please contact us at dwresilience@epa.gov.

Spring 2020 AWIA Risk Assessment and Emergency Response Plan Training 101 Video

The AWIA Risk Assessment and Emergency Response Plan Training 101 is a four-part video from our spring 2020 workshop series. The video provides information on AWIA Section 2013. Listeners will learn from EPA how various resources can assist water utilities in complying with AWIA Section 2013. 

Training Presentation

Please feel free to use the following presentation to share this information as broadly as possible. AWIA Overview Training Presentation(12 pp, 9 MB, 10/27/2020)

EPA Updated Risk Assessment and Emergency Response Tools

The EPA hosted workshops across the country for community water systems complying with AWIA Section 2013. Follow the link below for the webinar-based version of these workshops. 

EPA Updated Risk Assessment and Emergency Response Plan ToolsExit

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Frequently Asked Questions

Access the Frequently Asked Questions Document

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Fact Sheet 

Access the AWIA Risk Assessment and Emergency Response Plan Requirements Fact Sheet

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Technical Assistance Primer

Access the Technical Assistance Primer

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Five-year Review, Revision and Certification Requirements

Each community water system serving more than 3,300 persons must review its risk and resilience assessment at least once every five years to determine if it should be revised. Upon completion of such a review, the system must submit to the EPA a certification that it has reviewed its assessment and revised it, if applicable.

Further, each community water system serving more than 3,300 persons must review and, if necessary, revise its emergency response plan at least once every five years after the system completes the required review of its risk and resilience assessment. The emergency response plan must incorporate any revisions to the risk and resilience assessment. Upon completion of such a review, but not later than six months after certifying the review of its risk and resilience assessment, the system must submit to the EPA a certification that it has reviewed its emergency response plan and revised it, if applicable.

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