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Contingency Planning
Identification of the response team and response team coordinator, how and what
agencies, having responsibility for accomplishing the response actions is an
essential element of a contingency plan. The plan contains an emergency list of
names, agencies, telephone numbers, FAX numbers, and addresses of those whose
commitment to the response has been established. Some very simple contingency
plans consist only of this list of who to call to get help. This list is subject to
change and it is essential that it be maintained and up-to-date. Personnel change
and agencies change names, change missions, and move to new addresses. A
flow chart showing who has responsibility for each of the response allows the
coordinator to manage the response team for timely and complete operation of the
response.
Because a contingency plan may not be able to cover all of the details of a potential
incident in advance (i.e., there is such a large variety of materials that potentially
could be involved in spills), the response team may need assistance to design
specific actions for an incident at the time it occurs. For this reason, the
contingency plan should include identification of agencies, departments, and
consultants as well as the scope of their services and expertise. It also might be
useful to include information on sources of financial support for emergency
response (e.g., the Federal Emergency Management Agency [FEMA], the
Department of Housing and Urban Development, etc.).
It is important that contingency plan information be kept current, because time
wasted translates into movement of contamination toward the well. A sound
contingency plan should be a"living" document that is constantly being revised.
Any revisions changing the potential threats within the WHPA, new technology and
approaches to intercept or mitigate contamination, new suppliers, sources of
assistance, personnel, agencies and their addresses and phone numbers. Consider
the usefulness of a plan that does not take into account the change of tenants in a
commercial building from a plumbing distributor to a dry cleaner.
The planning prdcess should include the community from the very beginning and
throughout £ffe life of the plan. This helps to assure that the contingency plan is
acceptable Spthe community and excepts the community's perceptions of threat
to, and the^vafue of, its water supply. The community may perceive a low value
for a threat%ni§
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Within the wellhead protection program, a contingency plan is a blueprint of what
to do in the event that a recognized potential threat of contamination becomes a
realized threat or becomes an imminent threat. A contingency plan prescribes what
to do when to: initiate action, who would do it, with what tools and materials, and
how it would be done. It is prepared in the absence of, but in anticipation of, the
conditions requiring the plan, and may never be actually needed or applied.
Contingency planning for wellhead protection anticipates a contamination event and
prescribes actions to prevent, or minimize, contamination of the well. For example,
the presence of railroad tracks within a WHPA is recognized as a potential threat to
water quality of the well and a plan of action (contingency plan) to prevent
contaminants from reaching the well is prepared for the possibility that a railroad
accident causes the release of contaminants. The plan is activated.by knowledge
that a spill has taken place or that a derailment has occurred and a spill imminent.
A Spill Response Plan is a type of contingency plan that provides a blueprint of
rapid, predetermined and decisive actions to intercept spilled contaminants before
they reach a well, before they reach ground water, or even before they are
released.
The very first step in developing a WHP Contingency Plan is to inventory the
potential threats which are present in the WHPA. In some cases, it is not feasible
to eliminate water quality threats from a WHPA. Commonly, potential sources of
contaminants were present before the WHPA was delineated or even before the
well was constructed. The inventory of sources described in Module 3 is the main
source of information for this initial step in the contingency planning process.
Identification of the threats can take the form of a "What if" exploration of all the
land uses, possible accidents, and possible spills or leaks in the WHPA.
Communities use the planning process to design the responses needed to prevent
the contamination or minimize the contamination of the welll, or determines where
to get an alternative supply. Developing the plan requires knowledge of the toxicity
and transport properties of the contaminant and the volume of it that rftay reach the
well. Case histories of similar known contamination events are extremely valuable
in designing aactselecting the actions to be taken. Plans developed for other areas
are also a source of responses that could be incorporated into a contingency plan,
bu they shou|d\.b@^adapted to the specific conditions of the threat and hydrology
within the WHPA.; The responses must be possible within the context of available
resources identified in the next two elements.
For uncommon potential contaminants with special physical or chemical
characteristics, technical assistance may be necessary to design effective and
appropriate responses. Some threats may be too small to warrant a response, and
other may be overwhelming as to preclude effective action. Evaluation of the
worth of response (whether to take action) should involve the judgement of the
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community. The instructor can stimulate discussion by asking examples of
continaencies that aren't worth nlanninn for
For a respons£:part of a contingency plan to be effective, it must have an alarm,
"trigger" or signal when to initiate the response. This part of a plan should include
a communications (reporting) network and clearly state what conditions will initiate
a response, and what the response will be.
The responses to spills in two difference communities illustrate the importance of
having a contingency plan. A leaking underground gasoline storage tank was
discovered in Community 1, which did not have, a contingency plan. A public
health official was forced to make a decision while being barraged by a bewildering
array of unevaluated information and opinion. He decided to pump the well and see
what happened. More $5 million later, the resulting contamination of the well is
under control. When a similar event occurred in Community 2, which had a
contingency plan, the responsible official followed the plan. He ordered the
removal of the contents of a leaking underground tank and then initiated vapor
purging of the unsaturated zone above the tank as well as removal of the tank and
the contaminated soil. The well in Community 2 never became contaminated.
Officials are better able to make judgements of how to respond in an emergency
when they are properly informed and have sufficient time to consider all factors.
Having a ptan to follow further increases the likelihood that the potential for
damage will be minimized.
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Contingency Planning
Identification of the response team and response team coordinator, how and what
agencies, having responsibility for accomplishing the response actions is an
essential element of a contingency plan. The plan contains an emergency list of
names, agencies, telephone numbers, FAX numbers, and addresses of those whose
commitment to the response has been established. Some very simple contingency
plans consist only of this list of who to call to get help. This list is subject to
change and it is essential that it be maintained and up-to-date. Personnel change
and agencies change names, change missions, and move to new addresses. A
flow chart showing who has responsibility for each of the response allows the
coordinator to manaige the response team for timely and complete operation of the
response.
Because a contingency plan may not be able to cover all of the details of a potential
incident in advance (i.e., there is such a large variety of materials that potentially
could be involved in spills), the response team may need assistance to design
specific actions for an incident at the time it occurs. For this reason, the
contingency plan should include identification of agencies, departments, and
consultants as well as the scope of their services and expertise. It also might be
useful to include information on sources of financial support for emergency
response (e.g:, the Federal Emergency Management Agency [FEMA], the
Department of Housing and Urban Development, etc.).
It is important that contingency plan information be kept current, because time
wasted translates into movement of contamination toward the well, A sound
contingency plan should be a"living" document that is constantly being revised.
Any revisions changing the potential threats within the WHPA, new technology and
approaches to intercept or mitigate contamination', new suppliers, sources of
assistance, personnel, agencies and their addresses and phone numbers. Consider,
the usefulness of a plan that does not take into account the change of tenants in a
commercial building from a plumbing distributor to a dry cleaner.
The planning^rocess should include the community from the very beginning and
throughout tipple of the plan. This helps to assure that the contingency plan is
acceptable^t^llle; community and excepts the community's perceptions of threat
to, and the \||j|je>pf, its water supply. The community may perceive a low value
for a threatened well, because of its^ow yield or already poor water quality and
because there are alternative supplies of superior quality available at little additional
public expense. Community involvement tends to assure-that the inventory of
existing threats will be thorough and that the new potential-threats will be identified
and avoided. It furthers community awareness of the location of the WHPA and
the need to be vigilant for conditions which could degrade the water supply. It
expands civic responsibility to include stewardship for the community yvater supply.
For example, the citizen who noticed jnd reported a tanker truck discharging wash
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For example, the citizen who noticed and reported a tanker truck discharging wash
water alongside the highway within a WHPA, the chemical plant manager who
alerted the contingency plan manager to changes of chemicals used in the plant
within the WHPA, or the distributor of auto supplies, who reported that inventory
of absorbent clay which he stocks, could be available for the emergency clean-up of
gasoline spills. Community awareness and involvement facilitates responsiveness
and cooperation to create a more effective wellhead protection contingency plan.
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Key Points
•	It is essential that the resources for a planned response be available to carry
out the response
•	The materials and tools must be available
•	The know-how must be available
•	The bills will have to be paid
•	It is important that a contingency plan be changed when the water quality
threats change
•	The contingency plan must be changed when the people who respond to it
change or their phone numbers change
•	The response should be kept current with state-of-the-art equipment,
materials, and technology to be most effective
•	The scope of responses may change in response to the financial resources
available
•	The planning process should include the community from the very beginning
and throughout the life of the plan
•	Community involvement means that those who are participating in the
planning process are representative of all the interests potentially involved
when a potential threat becomes realized (something goes wrong)
•	Community participation assures acceptance of the plan (that the planned,
responses are commensurate with the community's perspectives and values)
•	Community participation fosters the public awareness and stewardship for
around water resources.
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CONTINGENCY PLANNING CASE STUDY
SIOUX FALLSi> SOUTH DAKOTA
The Sioux Falls case study demonstrates the importance of having a contingency
plan. In this instance, a potentially disastrous pipeline break spurred the public
support needed to develop a contingency plan.
Sioux Falls is located in northeastern South Dakota and has a population of
approximately 96,000. The city is almost totally dependent on ground water from
the Big Sioux Aquifer for its drinking water: This aquifer is the most accessible and
most used water source for the area, but, because of its shallow water table (i.e.
less than 20 feet) and its high recharge rate, it is highly susceDtible to
contamination.
Increased development has resulted in increased demand for water. At the same
time, conflicting land uses and land practices have increased the potential for
ground water contamination. Sioux Falls is the central warehousing and
distribution point in the region for agribusiness:related materials. The city is served
by rail and highway routes used to deliver pesticides, fertilizers, petroleum
products, organic solvents, and metals for consumption and distribution. The
transport over the aquifer of these agricultural and industrial chemicals represents a
significant source of potential contamination to the city's public water supply wells.
A map of the wejlhead protection area indicates the location of anpther potential
source of contamination: a gasoline transmission pipeline. In April 1987, a break
occurred in the pipeline within a half mile of a city well. The pipeline company
worked quickly with city and state officials to correct the problem. The pipeline
break demonstrated the potential for extensive contamination and damage to the
well field and served as a warning to the city that a contingency plan was needed. .
In response to concern about the pipeline leak, the city accelerated its efforts to
develop a contingency plan. A bill was introduced to the legislature that contained
provisions for a comprehensive wellhead protection program, including contingiency
planning. With, strong local support, a contingency plan was developed quickly.
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CONTINGENCY PLANNING CASE STUDY
TUCSON, ARIZONA
The problems that must be addressed by contingency plans vary from community
to community. Contingency plans should address not just contamination threats
but also a wide range of environmental and operational problems. The Tucson case
study also provides an example of the importance of strong leadership when
developing a contingency plan.
Tucson is a large city in southern Arizona that has a population of approximately
300,000. The city lies within the Sonoran Desert and has a climate strongly
influenced by the extensive mountain ranges surrounding the city as well as the
long distances from any bodies of surface water. Precipitation averages less than
12 inches per year, and nearly of half of this is provided by violent summer
thunderstorms, which frequently result in flash flooding. Therefore, flash flooding
is one of the threats addressed in the Tucson contingency plan;
Tucson also had a problem with theft and vandalism around its pubjic water wells.
Vandals would break into pump houses to steal well operating tools and equipment.
To deal with this problem, Tucson's contingency plan includes keeping extra tools
and equipment on hand and constructing a fence around the pump house.
The strong leadership for the Tucson contingency plan came from the Pima
Association of Governments (PAG), which is headquartered in Tucson. This was ,
important because several entities are involved in the development of water
supplies and provision of water service in the Tucson metropolitan area, including
city, county, and private water providers. Prior to-PAG leadership, there was
considerable ambiguity and confusion among the various parties regarding the roles
in the development of a contingency plan ant the benefits from such a plan. PAG
was able to bring most of the major water providers together in the planning
process by demonstrating the potential benefit to all water providers, regardless of
their size or geographic area. This allowed PAG to tap into the resources,
knowledge^a»®Sppertise of a majority of the water suppliers for the successful
completion|^^^ptihgency plan.	¦
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