Water and wastewater utilities are vulnerable to a variety of hazards including earthquakes, flooding, drought, tornadoes, and wildfires. Use EPA's new Hazard Mitigation Guide to identify cost-effective projects that will increase your utility's resilience to natural disasters. Click here to access the guide. 

Check out the updated Water Utility Response On-The-Go mobile website. New features - including local weather watches and warnings, customizable contact lists, and enhanced damage assessment forms - improve real-time access to information and tools that water utilities may need during an emergency. Bookmark it on your mobile device today! Click here to visit the Response On-The-Go site.

FEMA and its partners just released updated National Planning Frameworks for Prevention, Protection, Mitigation, Response, and Recovery. The Frameworks outline roles and responsibilities from the firehouse to the White House and help us understand how we coordinate, share information, and work together to become a more secure and resilient nation. Click here for a copy of the documents and a summary of changes.

The Senate passed the Water Resources Development Act of 2016 (WRDA) last week on a broad, bi-partisan vote of 95 to 3. The bill, S.2848, which had been expected to pass, includes funding for several water and wastewater priorities such as funds to jump-start the Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (WIFIA) pilot program, emergency funding for the water crisis in Flint, Mich., and new assistance to help schools and communities remove lead that has leached from service lines and plumbing fixtures. Read more.

In an October 24 letter to Congress, SCRWA observes,  "The WRDA bill's scope is expansive; there are provisions in the Senate and House bills that will have to be reconciled in conference that concern us." Read the letter .