At the Georgia Rural Water Association’s fall 2019 conference in Helen, Georgia, Dr. Scott Thomas of AARC Consultants, LLC gave a brief but informative overview of the AWIA 2018 requirements for water utilities. The America’s Water Infrastructure Act (AWIA) was passed in October 2018 by Congress and is an EPA requirement for all drinking water systems that serve more than 3,300 people. The requirement involves completing a Risk and Resilience Assessment (RRA) first, followed by an Emergency Response Plan (ERP) six months later, and then certifying completion to the EPA. Dr. Thomas delved into the question: what is resilience, and how can we increase our resilience to various risks? This will be important to consider for water utilities serving any population size from 3,301 people to the hundreds of thousands.
AARC Consultants offers this service as a third-party auditor for water utilities. Our team of environmental, civil, and chemical engineers; hydrologists and hydrogeologists; cybersecurity specialists; physical security professionals; climate scientists; emergency response planners, and business continuity professionals comprise an experienced, capable team to perform the RRA and ERP for your water utility.
