Water, Sanitation, Hygiene: Community Plan

Step 1. Establish a Water Preparedness Task Force with key members of community leadership, including your community’s Emergency Manager. The goal of the task force is to ensure that your community is prepared at the top level for surviving a disaster in terms of water availability. Meet regularly to develop an Emergency Water Plan.

Step 2. First, identify the large sources of water in your community. These might include water treatment plants, lakes and rivers, community pools, and water towers.

Step 3. Establish two core emergency response teams that will be able to (1) pump, filter, purify, and (2) distribute water from these sources.

Step 4. Begin to develop Memoranda of Understanding (MOUs) with property owners, including public utilities and water districts. These will enable your community to take control over the sources in a disaster requiring mass distribution of water.

Step 5. Begin to gather the necessary equipment and supplies for mass pumping, filtration, and purifying, and distributing of water. 

Step 6. Establish a Transportation Plan to govern the distribution of water. 

Step 7. Develop an equitable Water Distribution Plan. How will you distribute it? Where? How will people transport it to their streets? Who will be given access to water first? How will you prevent panic and masses of people showing up at facilities to demand water? How will you ensure order and safety?

Step 8. Create a Standard Operating Procedures manual for the collection and distribution of water. Ensure you have the correct supplies and personnel to put the plan into effect. Make sure to include a training element so that when personnel need to be replaced, you can get them up to speed quickly.