By Dean Samet, CHSP
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and American Water Works Association (AWWA) recently released a guide entitled Emergency Water Supply Planning Guide for Hospitals and Health Care Facilities¹. Guidance is provided to assist health care facilities in developing an Emergency Water Supply Plan (EWSP) that prepares for, responds to, and recovers from a partial or total interruption of the normal water supply. Obviously a water supply loss would have a significant adverse effect on the daily operations of any health care facility, potentially affecting both patient safety and the quality of patient care. While there is little that can be done to prevent losing an offsite supply, developing and exercising an EWSP can help lessen the impact should such an incident occur.
The CDC EWSP Guide provides a four-step process for developing an emergency water supply plan:
1. Assemble the appropriate EWSP team and the necessary background documents for your facility;
2. Understand your water usage by performing a water use audit;
3. Analyze your emergency water supply alternatives; and,
4. Develop and exercise your EWSP.
