Irene Aftermath

August 30th, 2011

Utility Support Network Was Prepared for Irene
NYWARN helps utilities recover from disasters

(Syracuse, NY) -- New York's Water/Wastewater Agency Response Network (NYWARN) began preparing for Hurricane Irene days before the storm was scheduled to hit the New York coastline.

Regional chairperson Connie Schreppel took part in scheduled conference calls hosted by the National WARN organization with participation from US EPA, DHS, Water ISAC and WARN Regions 1, 2, 3 and 4. NYWARN regional chairs reached out to utilities that had signed NYWARN's mutual aid agreement and fielded questions from non-NYWARN members. The network's website - www.nywarn.org was updated with new contact information, summaries of US EPA briefings, and links to important websites including US EPA's hurricane site, FEMA, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's hurricane center. The NYWARN Operational Plan was also posted on the website. This document contains important information and forms for use by systems in emergency situations.

Even though Irene hit hard and power remained out in many areas of New York State on Monday, no NYWARN member initiated an actual alert.

Initiating an alert through the NYWARN website would send a notification to the network's members that a utility or utilities were requesting assistance. The utility initiating the alert could use the NYWARN site to request specific types of equipment and/or personnel; member utilities have the option of whether to assist or not.

"Even though no one sent out an alert, NYWARN was ready to respond and I think the information sent out to members before Irene landed was helpful, and very important information was made available on our website to all utilities in the state, whether or not they are members," said Connie Schreppel, NYWARN chair.

Schreppel said that once regional chairs have dealt with Irene's aftermath, they will meet for a "lessons learned" session so the team can make improvements in NYWARN's operation. In addition, network representatives will attend a national meeting of WARN chairs at the AWWA Water Security Conference.

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