Water Services National Training Group and

National Federation of Group Water Schemes

7th Annual Rural Water Services Conference

18th September 2008

Drinking Water Incident Response Management and Planning

Peter O’Reilly

Senior Engineer

Fingal County Council

Incident/Emergency planning

Why prepare ?

Prevention - Minimise the risk

Emergencies – examples

Response - expectations

Training programme- WSNTG 2006

Drinking Water Incident Management

Why Prepare?

Public Health - implications of service failure

Maintaining customer confidence in water supply

Regulatory requirements

Not so long ago

Wash day

Current ExpectationsQuantity 148 lhd

QualityEU DWD DW Regs 2007

Continuityuninterrupted

Cost !!?

But…..Things Go Wrong !

Prevention is better than cure!

Reduce risk

Minimise risk

Source / catchment

Treatment

Distribution system

Customer side

Source

Storage/Service Reservoir

EmergenciesAre sudden

Stretch resources

Break continuity/confidence in service

Need different levels of response as they vary in size and complexity

Can involve a large number of stakeholders

Emergencies

QualityContaminationTaste and Odour

QuantityBurstsLeaksDrought

Leixlip WTP

Burst

Repair

Drought

Drought ?

Knocksedan

Emergencies- what customers expect

What is the problem?Will I be affected?How long will it last?What must I do?What will be done to minimise the disruption?When will things return to normal?

StaffExperienced

Competent

Well trained – WSNTG courses

Ready and available to respond

Resources

Emergency Response Centre

Communication

CLARITY

WSNTG Training

Drinking Water Incident Management (DWIM)

Background

Increase in number of Incidents

Greater variation in Incidents

Increase in Customer Expectations

Need for Incident Management

Scope

All Incidents: Contamination Interruption

All aspects of the drinking water system: Sources Treatment Distribution System to the consumer's draw off point.

“Water Suppliers" Water Services Authorities Group Water Scheme sector.

Change in the Water Sector in Ireland

Legislation Drinking Water Regulations (SI 278 of 2007)

Water Services Act 2007

Supervisory Role of the EPA/WSA Proactive role

High profile incidents Media focus on drinking water quality Now front page news

Framework for Security of Water Supply

Preventative Measures

Water Safety Plans

Scheme Level

Source to Tap

Reactive Measures

Incident Management

Water Services Authority Level

Role of the EPA/WSA

Supervisory role for the EPA for public water supplies

Supervisory role for the WSA for group water schemes

Role of the HSEWSA to consult with HSE in determining if a drinking water supply constitutes a potential danger to human health (Regulation 9) and if so

The actions by the WSA to restrict supply and inform consumers are subject to agreement with the HSE,

The issue of a direction under Regulation 9(2) is subject to agreement with the HSE

Medical Officer of Health: previously a local authority appointment (now HSE, reporting to the Assistant Director for Health Protection). Generally the MoH’s decision to implement a boil notice, if required

Current liaison arrangements: Water Quality Liaison groups / Incident Response Teams (IRT)

Terminology

Drinking Water Incident Management (DWIM): To describe the range of procedures and processes

deployed to manage a Drinking Water Incident

Drinking Water Incident Response Plan (DWIRP): A plan prepared by a water services authority to

document the procedures, processes and information to support the management of a Drinking Water Incident.

Project Deliverables

1. Template 2. Guidance Document 3. Research CD

Conclusions

Emergencies happen

Be prepared

Have a plan

Drinking Water Incident Management (DWIM)

Water Services National Training Group and

National Federation of Group Water Schemes

7th Annual Rural Water Services Conference

18th September 2008