Arkansas Department of Health

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Drinking Water Emergency Response

Emergency Response

The Rules & Regulations Pertaining to Public Water Systems requires that: "The owner [of a public water system] shall report to the Arkansas Department of Health within four hours of the discovery and evaluation of any emergency condition located in the water system which affects the ability of the water system to deliver adequate quantities of safe water to its customers.  Examples of such emergencies include loss of pressure in the distribution system, failure of the source or treatment facility or parts thereof, voluntary or mandatory water conservation efforts, or the known or suspected introduction of any contaminant into the water system."

If such an event occurs, please notify the Department of Health by calling the Division of Engineering (during normal working hours) at the number listed below.  After hours, please notify the Department of Health Emergency Communications Center at the number listed below. The Emergency Communications Center has home, cell, and pager numbers for Division management and home phone numbers for other Division staff.

The following links are provided to assist water system personnel in assessing risk and determining the appropriate response to actual, suspected, or potential terrorist activities.

• EPA's Drinking and Wastewater Infrastructure Protection website
• EPA's  Water or Wastewater Utility Emergency Response website
• EPA's Lab Compendium (requires user id and password) 
• WaterISAC (Water Information Sharing & Analysis Center) - Access to technical information requires a smart card, user id and PIN
• CDC's Emergency Preparedness and Response website
• U.S. Department of Homeland Security