5 Questions Every Emergency Manager Should Ask About Their Emergency Water Plan

Emergency Preparedness | Water Resilience

Most emergency plans account for communications, power, transportation, staffing, and medical needs.

But what happens when the water stops?

A water main break, contamination event, natural disaster, infrastructure failure, or prolonged utility disruption can quickly affect an organization's ability to continue operating.

For emergency managers, having bottled water stored on site is a good starting point, but a resilient emergency water plan should go much further.

The plan should answer five fundamental questions.

1. Where Will Our Water Come From?

The first question is simple:

If our normal water supply becomes unavailable or unsafe, where will we get water?

Many emergency plans assume water will continue arriving through the municipal system or that bottled water can be delivered as needed.

During a large-scale emergency, neither may be guaranteed.

Transportation routes may be disrupted. Suppliers may be serving multiple affected communities. Municipal infrastructure may be compromised for several days.

Emergency managers should identify potential alternate freshwater sources before an emergency occurs.

Depending on the location and situation, those sources could include:

• Stored water tanks

• Fire trucks or water tenders

• Swimming pools

• Hydrants where water remains available but requires treatment

• Other accessible freshwater sources

The goal is not simply to identify water somewhere nearby. The goal is to determine which sources could realistically be accessed during an emergency.

2. How Will We Make That Water Safe?

Finding water is only the beginning.

The next question is:

How will we turn the available source water into potable water?

Water that looks clean is not necessarily safe to drink.

Depending on the source and emergency, water may contain sediment, microorganisms, bacteria, viruses, unpleasant tastes and odors, or other contaminants.

Emergency purification equipment should therefore be selected based on the water conditions the organization may realistically encounter.

First Water purification systems use multiple stages of treatment, which may include sediment filtration, carbon filtration, advanced microbiological filtration, and ultraviolet disinfection.

The important planning question is not simply whether the organization owns a filter.

It is whether the system can reliably produce potable water from the sources identified in the emergency plan.

3. How Much Water Can We Produce?

Emergency planners often think about water in terms of gallons stored.

Another important measurement is:

Gallons produced per hour or per day.

Stored water is finite.

Once 1,000 gallons have been consumed, those 1,000 gallons must be replaced.

On-site purification gives an organization the ability to continue producing potable water as long as an appropriate freshwater source is available.

To determine the required production capacity, emergency managers should consider:

• The number of people being supported

• Daily drinking-water requirements

• Food preparation

• Hygiene and sanitation

• Medical or healthcare operations

• Public distribution requirements

• The expected duration of the emergency

• Peak demand during different parts of the day

A small emergency response team and a large hospital may both need clean water, but their production requirements are completely different.

For that reason, emergency water systems should be sized around the mission they are expected to support.

First Water offers purification systems ranging from compact portable units to higher-capacity systems capable of producing substantial volumes of potable water each day.

4. Where Will We Store the Purified Water?

Producing potable water does not solve the entire problem.

Once the water is treated, it needs somewhere to go.

Emergency planners should determine:

• How much water must be stored at any given time?

• Where will that storage be located?

• Can the storage equipment be transported?

• How quickly can it be deployed?

• How will contamination of treated water be prevented?

• Is additional storage available if demand increases?

Portable tanks and water bladders can provide flexibility during emergency response because they can be deployed where water is actually needed.

Storage capacity should also match purification capacity.

A system capable of producing thousands of gallons per day needs an appropriate method of storing or continuously distributing that water.

5. How Will We Get the Water to the People Who Need It?

The final question is often overlooked.

How will purified water actually be distributed?

Producing 10,000 gallons of potable water in one location is not particularly useful if the people who need it cannot access it.

Depending on the mission, water may need to be distributed to:

• Hospital departments

• Patients and staff

• Emergency shelters

• First responders

• Government facilities

• Correctional facilities

• Community distribution points

• Field operations

• Remote locations

Emergency managers should consider hoses, filling stations, containers, pumps, portable storage, and the physical layout of the facility or response area.

Distribution should be planned at the same time as purification and storage.

Think of Emergency Water as a Complete System

A resilient emergency water plan should connect all four stages of the process:

Source → Purification → Storage → Distribution

If any one of those components is missing, the plan may fail when it is needed most.

For example:

A purification system without a reliable source cannot produce water.

A water source without adequate treatment may not be safe.

A high-capacity purifier without sufficient storage can create logistical problems.

And thousands of gallons of stored potable water provide limited value if there is no practical distribution method.

The strongest emergency water plans address the entire system.

A Sixth Question: Have We Actually Tested the Plan?

There is one additional question every emergency manager should consider:

Have we practiced this before an actual emergency?

A plan on paper can look very different when equipment must be deployed in the field.

Organizations should know:

• Who is responsible for deploying the equipment?

• Where is the equipment stored?

• How quickly can it be operational?

• Who knows how to operate it?

• Are replacement filters and other supplies available?

• Have potential water sources been evaluated?

• Has the distribution process been tested?

Periodic exercises can expose gaps long before a real emergency occurs.

Build the Plan Before You Need It

Water is essential to nearly every emergency response operation.

Waiting until a disruption occurs to determine where water will come from, how it will be purified, or how it will be distributed creates unnecessary risk.

Emergency managers should be able to answer five questions before the water stops:

Where will our water come from?

How will we purify it?

How much can we produce?

Where will we store it?

How will we distribute it?

If any of those questions are difficult to answer, it may be time to take another look at the organization's emergency water plan.

First Water Emergency Water Solutions

First Water provides portable and fixed water purification systems along with storage and distribution equipment designed for emergency response, healthcare facilities, government agencies, military operations, public health organizations, and other critical infrastructure.

Our goal is to help organizations build a complete emergency water strategy rather than simply provide another piece of equipment.

Contact First Water to discuss your emergency water requirements and determine what purification, storage, and distribution capabilities may be appropriate for your organization.

Pure. Vital. Ready.