In October of 2018, America’s Water Infrastructure Act (AWIA) was signed into law.  The AWIA specified that water utilities submit Risk and Resilience Assessments (RRAs) and Emergency Response Plans (ERPs) in the years 2020 through 2021, based on the size of population served.

 

The next round of deadlines for updated RRAs and ERPs are as follows:

Population Served	RRA Deadline	ERP Deadline
Over 100,000	March 31, 2025	September 30, 2025
50,000-99,999	December 31, 2025	June 30, 2026
3,301-49,999	June 30, 2026	December 31, 2026
Note: Population served as of March 31, 2024 from the Safe Drinking Water Information System (SDWIS) determines the size category and RRA/ERP deadline.

 

The goal of the RRA is to assess the resiliency of a utility’s pipes, source water, treatment, storage, and distribution facilities, as well as computer, electronic, and other automated systems used at the utility.  The RRA addresses the use, storage, and handling of chemicals, the monitoring practices of the system, the financial infrastructure, cybersecurity infrastructure, as well as the operation and maintenance of the water system.

 

The ERP addresses risks identified in the RRA and is required to include the following:

• Strategies and resources to improve resilience.
• Plans, procedures, and equipment required to respond to a natural hazard or malevolent act.
• Actions, equipment, and procedures needed to lessen the impact of natural hazard or malevolent act.
• Strategies to detect natural hazards or malevolent acts.

 

There are several items that may have changed in a utility’s system that should be considered while updating your RRA and ERP prior to the upcoming deadlines.  During the initial certification process four years ago, the nature of supply chain shortages, increased lead times, and increased chemical costs due to pandemics may not have been realized.  After COVID-19, utilities likely have a better understanding of these impacts to their systems which need to be reflected in the updated documents. Additionally, cybersecurity has grown in importance since 2020 as risk of attacks on water systems from nation-state actors, ransomware, and other sources have increased since that time. Updates to the RRA an ERP need to be made to account for these types of threats and what mitigation measures are best suited to counteract them.  Lastly, any changes in the utilities system that have taken place since the initial certification process took place such as significant changes in customer base, increased resiliency such as adding new generators, new assets that have been added or removed, and new risks identified, all need to be considered when updating the RRA and ERP for the next round of certification.

 

SSR can help your utility with the preparation of RRAs and ERPs for the upcoming certification deadlines.  SSR has staff that completed the AWWA Utility Risk and Resiliency Certificate Program, and has experience in seismic analysis and structural design of a wide variety of facility types, including water and wastewater infrastructure, for the natural hazard analysis included in the standard.  SSR has also prepared several drought management plans in the state for water utilities and has hydrology and hydraulic experts on staff familiar with FEMA flood requirements and regulations.  Beyond the technical experts that are available for the RRA and ERP documents, SSR has in-house professionals in the areas of structural, building mechanical, plumbing, electrical, and instrumentation and controls.  Having these resources within the company provides the ability to seamlessly work through the RRA and ERP process.