CWA Presentation on the California WARN Program

1. CalWARN
Emergency Preparedness and Response:
What Can We Learn from Hurricane Sandy?
California Water Association
jim_wollbrinck@sjwater.com
May 30, 2013

2. What is a CalWARN & Why Should I
Care?
California Water/Waste Water Agency Response
Network
State Wide Network of Water and Waste Water
Utilities
Mission:
To support and promote statewide emergency
preparedness, disaster response, and mutual
assistance matters for public and private water and
wastewater utilities
Be There…WHEN NEEDED!

3. What Got Us Here - Lessons Learned
1991 Tunnel Fire (aka: East Bay Hills Firestorm)
1994 Northridge Earthquake
1997/98 El Nino Storms and Floods
2001 Terrorist Attacks
2005 Hurricane Katrina
2007/08 Wildland Fires
2010 El Mayor Earthquake
Superstorm Sandy

4. 1991 Tunnel Fire
Firefighters Over-drafted System
Unaware of water system zones
o
More pressure and volume
Staging Area had adapters
o
Not given to mutual aid
Inconsistent Field Command
SB 1841, Petris:
Standardized Emergency Management System
(SEMS)
Color Coded hydrants
Water Systems Emergency Plans
Governor’s OES After Action Report
4

5. CalWARN Initiative
• Three Preceding Bay Area Events
– 1989 Loma Prieta EQ
– 1990 Freeze
– 1991 East Bay Hills Firestorm
• 1991 East Bay Firestorm Blue Ribbon Report
– State Office of Emergency Services Review
– Evaluated cause of fire, response and improvements
– Recommended Water Mutual Aid Program
• Action
–
–
–
–
–
Polled largest 150 water utilities; received 55 Responses
VA: 20 yes; 31 no; 4 no response
Emergency plan: 23 yes; 32 no
Training: 31 yes; 20 no; 4 no response
MA agreement: 12 yes; 43 no
5
5

6. What resources are shared with WARN?
Qualified Personnel and Equipment
(Portable)
Operations
Maintenance
Management
Customer Service
Laboratory
Treatment
IT (SCADA, GIS, Enterprise)

7. WARN Bridge
Includes public AND private utilities
Operates utility to utility for small, local or large events
– must coordinate with emg mgt
Reduces the response “gap”
Intrastate WARN Activation
Initial Emergency
Emergency
Occurs
Local
Mutual Aid
Agreement
Statewide
Mutual Aid Asst.
Recovery

8. 1994 Northridge Earthquake
Damage Debilitated Water Systems
Water Became Significant Need
Los Angeles County EOC
Established a Water Czar position
Coordinated water delivery
Security required in Simi Valley
Need documented in State OES Potable Water
Plan
Homeowners
Unable to inhabit home until water restored
8

9. 1994-2005
CalWARN Goes to Sleep
Limited Use
Documentation Ages
No Standard Operating Procedures
Original Brain Trust…Starts to Retire
9

10. The Move to Revitalization
Emergency Potable
Water Guidance
BAESIC Developed
2005 Bay Area Assessment
2007 Adopted
2008 Golden Guardian
Exercise

11. Utilities Helping Utilities
Associations met Nov
2005
Lessons learned from
Katrina
How mutual aid had been
successful
How to facilitate mutual
aid
Common Understanding
Support the effort
Move forward together
Mutual aid is key

12. Utilities Helping Utilities
Put the Policy Statement
into motion
Utilities Helping
Utilities Action Plan
Outlines 10 key steps in
the formation of a WARN
Includes sample
agreement that satisfies
NIMS and comparative
assessment of existing
WARN programs

13. The National Effort (April 2006)

14. WARN – 12 months (May 2007)

15. WARN – 18 months (Jan 2008)

16. WARN – 25 months (June 2008)

17. WARN Feb 2009

18. WARN Status
March 2011
National
Capital
Region
WARN State
Agreement Pending
Steering Committee
Leadership Team
Workshop
* AL, AZ, MA, NH, NV - Signed or draft agreement
does not directly include private utilities.

19. “The WARN Ultimatum”
WARN State
Agreement Pending
Steering Committee
Leadership Team
Workshop
* AL, AZ, MA, NH, NV - Signed or draft agreement
does not directly include private utilities.

20. Revitalization – The State Effort
Golden Guardian 2008

21. Lessons Learned and SOP’s
2009 – Stakeholders Meeting
Lessons Learned
Brain Storm
Develop the Joint Water Task Force
Develop Standard Operating Procedures
2009-2010 REOC Completed
2010-2011 Op Area Completed
2011-Present: Op Area to Utility Level (Santa Clara
County)

22. JWTF – Down to the Op Area

23. Joint Water Task Force (‘08-’13)
Emergency Management Success for Water Issues Relies on
Representation at State
Representation at Region
Representation at County (Op Area)
Joint Water Task Force and Cal EMA
Representatives from
Utilities at local and county
Cal EMA
Developed draft document that proved useful during So Cal
EQ response
Checklist for position at each level

24. Water Sector EOC Specific Position
CSTI – (2010)
Course curriculum and training registration
Direction from Ca Department of Public Health, Water
Division
Funding from US Environmental Protection Agency, Region
9, Water Security
Eight hour, 1 day course, G611 Certificate, Credentialed
Registration– (2011)
May 24, Sacramento
May 26, Los Angeles
Exercise, June 1
Train the Trainer, June 21

25. Current Status
Regional Tested
Regional Tested
Regional Tested
Regional Tested
GG2013 Exercise
GG2013 Exercise
SOP Complete
SOP Complete
SOP Complete
SOP Final 2013
SOP Final 2013

26. Successful Uses of WARN
CalWARN
Northridge Earthquake, 1994
El Nino Storms, 1997/8 (Minimal Use)
Sonora Fires, 2001 (Minimal Use)
Southern California Fires, 2007 (Minimal Use-Revitalize)
Baja California EQ, 2010
COWARN
City of Alamosa Salmonella outbreak, 2008
FlaWARN
Hurricanes Katrina, Wilma and Rita, 2005
Tornadoes, 2007
ORWARN
Detroit Blizzard 2008
TNWARN, INWARN, KYWARN, AKWARN
Ice Storm February 2009
TXWARN
Rain Storms and Hurricane Humberto, 2007
Hurricane Dolly and Ike, 2008
East Coast Superstorm Sandy 2013
This list
includes
only the
major
documented
cases of
WARN
activation

27. Easter Sunday Sierra El Mayor EQ
Sunny day at 4:30 pm
7.2 R magnitude earthquake
90 miles south of border
Damage along rivers that feed the Salton Sea
Impact on six water/wastewater utilities, most
significant:
Imperial Irrigation District
Calexico
CalWARN
Staffed “Water Sector” position at

28. 2010 Sierra El Mayor Earthquake
Impact in Imperial County
Water and wastewater systems
Population reduced water use
Potential loss of $3 billion/yr industry
Required Coordination
City, Operational Area, Region
Delivery of:
Portable water treatment system
Potable water (potential)
Damage Inspection Continued
Potential for complete water loss to county
System installed in 1910 and delivers to all water utilities

29. Recognition
International Association of Emergency Managers
Partners in Preparedness Award, 2006
National Emergency Management Association (NEMA)
Recognized WARN as a best practice
Emergency Management Assistance Compact (EMAC)
WARN occupies seat on Advisory Council
International Association of Fire Chiefs and Police Chiefs
Association are implementing a “WARN” model
Federal Emergency Management Agency
NIMS Integration Center maintains copy of WARN
agreement
Recognized WARN as model public/private integration
agreement

30. Common Lessons Learned (LL)
Lack of Coordination
Impact to water system
Where to get water for
Firefighting
Public Health
Proclamation/Declaration
Public Information
Recovery
Return to homes
Return of Business
Return of economy
30

31. LL – Superstorm Sandy*
Mutual Aid
Intrastate
Increase Participation
in WARN
Interstate
Increase
Understanding of
EMAC
Flowchart Process
*Superstorm Sandy After Action Report:
http://tinyurl.com/water-SSSandy-AAR
NAWC Webinar: http://tinyurl.com/sandyaar

32. LL – Superstorm Sandy*(Continued)
Coordination
State/County/City EOC
Water represented**
Water/Energy/Telecom Nexus**
Must Coordinate Restoration Efforts
Fuel Coordination and Prioritization**
Site Access
ID to Access Effected Areas
*Superstorm Sandy After Action Report: http://tinyurl.com/water-SSSandy-AAR
NAWC Webinar: http://tinyurl.com/sandyaar
**CalWARN Completed or In Process

33. LL – Superstorm Sandy*(Continued)
Situational Awareness
Develop Damage Assessment Documentation and
SOP’s**
Common Operating Picture
Next Section
Communications
Interoperable Communications
Always and Issue!!!
*Superstorm Sandy After Action Report: http://tinyurl.com/water-SSSandy-AAR
NAWC Webinar: http://tinyurl.com/sandyaar
**CalWARN Completed or In Process

34. Original WARN Website

35. WARN 2.0

36. WARN 3.0
Phone/Email Autoupdate Functionality
Update and Expand
Resource Typing
Improve Search
Function
Prep for Future
Advancements
Utility Mapping &
Contact
Coordination
Inter-WARN
Connections

37. Productive Paranoia
Paranoid behavior is enormously functional if fear is
channeled into extensive preparation and calm,
clear headed action. ~Jim Collins, Great by Choice
Productive Paranoia. Collins categorized successful leaders as
"paranoid, neurotic freaks." They are always preparing for when,
not if, the next big disruption is going to happen. They may be
preparing for the worst -- one company he studied prided itself
on predicting the majority of the recessions in the past several
decades -- but their pessimism pays off.

38. CalWARN
Emergency Preparedness and Response:
What Can We Learn from Hurricane Sandy?
Thank You
California Water Association
jim_wollbrinck@sjwater.com
May 30, 2013