The aftermath of Superstorm Sandy in 2012 and the contamination of drinking water supplies in Toledo, Ohio, this past August that left 500,000 without clean water for days are stark reminders that local governments need to prepare for emergencies that disrupt their water supply. Fortunately, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) Water Security Division offers tools, training, and funding to help local governments prepare for, respond to, and recover in case of a natural disaster or other incident that might disrupt drinking water and wastewater systems.

ICMA and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency presented an LGEAN webinar on Tuesday, September 23, 2014 titled “Preparedness Tools and Resources for Drinking Water and Wastewater.” 

Access the webinar recording and handouts for free below:

• RECORDING, 1 hr 17 min. Can be viewed here via WebEx: https://icma.webex.com/icma/lsr.php?RCID=506e5291dd8848bea38ed85e64c34bca

• HANDOUTS, PDF format. Can be downloaded here:  Preparedness Tools and Resources for Drinking Water and Wastewater

During this session, you will learn about EPA tools and resources available to help drinking water, wastewater utilities, and the communities they serve. The webinar also features testimonials from utilities that have used some of these products in their organization.

Speakers include:

• Nushat Thomas, US EPA Water Security Division (WSD) Environmental Protection Specialist. Ms. Thomas has worked in the US EPA's Office of Water Security since 2009 and is the team leader of the Active and Effective Team in the Security Assistance Branch. Prior to the EPA WSD, she managed the environmental compliance program at the Potomac River coal-fired generating plant as an employee with Mirant Services, LLC, and served as chief of the environmental health section as an environmental science engineering officer with the United States Army at Fort Bragg, NC. She is a registered environmental health specialist and has a B.S. in chemistry from Johnson C. Smith University and an M.S. in environmental studies from Virginia Commonwealth University.
• Robert C. Steidel, Director, Department of Public Utilities, City of Richmond, VA. Mr. Steidel has 35 years of utilities experience and has served the city of Richmond Department of Public Utilities since 2003 in the roles of deputy director, interim director, and currently serves as director.  Responsible for providing leadership, fiscal management, administration, and operational direction to the Department of Public Utilities organized in five utilities and an enterprise call center. The major divisions are: natural gas, water treatment and distribution, wastewater collection and treatment (including floodwall and levee operations), stormwater collection and treatment (including canals) and streetlights.
• Jim Cherry, Water Operations Manager, City of Virginia Beach Public Utilities. Dr. Cherry is a P.E. in Virginia and has more than 30 years of experience in the water and wastewater field working for utilities and consultants. Dr. Cherry is the water operations manager for the city of Virginia Beach Public Utilities. He has been involved in the preparations of emergency response plans, conducted training events, and has performed as the water operations section chief in actual emergencies. As a member of the Virginia Section American Water Works Association, he chairs the Safety and Security Committee.  He holds a B.S. in Civil Engineering from Virginia Tech, a Masters of Engineering from Old Dominion University and a Doctor of Science from Technion- Israel Institute of Technology.