Regional Water System Emergency Disinfection and Recovery Plan

Client: San Francisco Public Utilities Commission

WRE engineers are currently (2011) assisting the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission with the development, formulation, and implementation of an emergency disinfection and recovery plan for its Regional Water System. This plan will establish response and recovery procedures for the system in the aftermath of a major catastrophic event that significantly and adversely affects the operations of water treatment plants and critical conveyance facilities. Such an event may force the utility to use partially treated water to meet firefighting and basic sanitation requirements.

WRE conducted a nationwide survey of water utilities to assess what others have done when faced with major emergencies. Over a dozen utilities from large and small cities were contacted and their “lessons learned” noted.

WRE is facilitating workshops with 29 wholesale customers that receive water from the Regional Water System. The workshops serve both to gather and impart information to customers, as well as to work out operational details that will need to be implemented during an emergency.