All areas of the United States can experience natural hazards, but whether they become disasters, or even catastrophes, depends in large part on what we do now to prepare to survive and recover. With September being National Preparedness Month and October being Earthquake Preparedness Month, it seems a great time to let the community know what your water district, CVWD, is doing to stay prepared and what you can do to be prepared.

CVWD is currently working to create a local hazard mitigation plan (LHMP). The LHMP is a document that outlines potential high priority hazards and creates projects that could be implemented to reduce overall risk to the District during a natural or man-made event such as drought, water shortage, energy shortage/outage, wildfire, earthquake, terrorism or cyber-attack. The District was able to obtain FEMA grant funding to cover 75% of the costs. The LHMP will be completed by early 2023.

CVWD also formed a steering committee made up of local stakeholders to oversee the plan’s development and outreach. The committee will meet on a monthly basis for approximately seven months, and meetings are open to the public. More information is available on www.cvwd.com under News and Information.

The District has also made crucial investments in back-up power such as the stationary generator located at the Glenwood Water Treatment Plant. This generator can maintain the Glenwood operations and the wells for two to three days. Generators were also added to most of the District’s critical sites for SCADA purposes. SCADA is a technology and infrastructure that enables the District to monitor and operate its critical resources from the water treatment plant or remotely in the event of power failures.

The District also has a back-up generator at the main office and four portable generators available to deploy to maintain critical operations like pumping water up the hill. These generators keep water flowing to customers during power outages to ensure public health and fire suppression.

The District is now on Facebook! Please stop by and follow our page. The District will be sharing photos from jobs, meeting notices and other interesting facts. Please be aware that in the event of an emergency, the best place to get information is from the District’s website www.cvwd.com, not from social media.

The District also utilizes NIXLE text and email alerts for communication with customers who are enrolled in the public safety agencies’ notification program. You may sign up for an account at www.nixle.com.

What Can You Do to be Prepared?
In an emergency situation, tap water may not be safe to drink or use and it is important to prepare for possible emergency situations ahead of time by having an emergency water supply for yourself and your family. It is also crucial to know how to make contaminated water safe to drink and how to find alternate sources of water.
In emergency situations, use bottled water if possible; bottled water is the safest choice for drinking and all other uses. If bottled water is not available, the following methods can help make your water safe to drink.

How Much Do You Need?
Store at least one gallon of water per person per day for three days, for drinking and sanitation. Try to store a two-week supply, if possible. You should consider storing more water than this for hot climates, for pregnant women and for persons who are sick.
Find more information on https://www.cdc.gov/healthywater/.