Water Utility Emergency Field Guide. North Carolina - Emergency Management Area 13 When you need help: You are not alone during an emergency! Help is available through local, county, state, and non- governmental organizations. • Request assistance from your local resources first (police, fire, health, local Emergency Operations Center or EOC, and existing mutual aid and assistance partners - if applicable). • Contact your County Emergency Management (EM) office or EOC for additional assistance (see numbers on next page) if needed AND be prepared with: a) Your utility's name, address, and contact information. b) The address where the resource is needed, and Global Positioning System or GPS coordinates if you have them. c) A description of the emergency and magnitude (what happened, how large is the affected area, how many people will be affected). d) What you need (kind and type of resource, such as a Type IV generator: a trailer-mounted, 400 KW, sound attenuated, multi-voltage panel, 3-phase generator). Resource typing, or categorizing and describing resources, is vital during an emergency. Be sure to fully describe the function and specific capabilities of the requested resources to avoid confusion. e) When you need the resource by (how urgent is it) and how long you will need it for. f) If you need a qualified operator for the requested equipment. g) Don't forget to ask for an anticipated delivery date, time, and a point of contact, if available. • Your EOC will follow up with you, but you can check back if necessary. There may not be a formal tracking number assigned to your resource request at the County level. • If your County EOC is not activated, the County EM coordinator should still be able to help you. If you are unable to reach the coordinator, contact the State EOC at (919) 733-3300, or (800) 858-0368 for 24/7 assistance. The State EOC can coordinate your resource request with " the County • Utilize mutual aid and assistance agreements such as the Water and Wastewater Agency Response Network (WARN) to request resources from other utilities. Keep in Mind: • If the County EOC cannot fulfill your resource request, they will look to neighboring counties. • If the neighboring counties cannot fulfill your resource request, your County EOC will forward it to your area's Emergency Management Coordinator, to the Branch Manager, and to the State EOC. All will try to locate the resource within North Carolina. • If the State EOC cannot fulfill your resource request, they may use their Emergency Management Assistance Compact (EMAC) coordinator to access resources in other states. • The State EOC may also contact the federal government for assistance through FEMA. This can be a lengthy process (at least 3 days), so don't wait too long to ask for help. • Not all assistance will be free-of-charge. You may be responsible for some or all of the costs. • The best way to make sure you get what you need is to have pre-disaster contracts and mutual aid and assistance agreements. If you wait until after the disaster to plan, it may be too late. ------- Who To State EOC 24/7 800-858-0368 EM Area 13 NC DEMR Public Water Supply Section (PWSS) Your PWSS regional office can be reached at: Asheville Regional Office Phone: 828-296-4500 Pager: 800-608-2260 Mooresville Regional Office Phone: 704-663-1699 Pager: 800-608-2175 *PWSS may try to reach you in an emergency if they do not hear from you. EM Area 13 Phone Numbersi Burke County Gaston County Union County 200 Avery Ave. 615 North Highland St. 805 Skyway Dr. Morganton Gastonia Monroe 828-433-6609 704-866-3350 704-283-3575 828-437-1911 - 24/7 704-866-3300 - After hours 704-289-1591 - After hours Catawba County Lincoln County 100A Southwest Blvd. 1 Court Sq. Newton Lincolnton 828-465-8230 704-736-8511 911 - After hours 704-735-8202 Cleveland County Mecklenburg County 100 Justice PL 228 East 9th St. Shelby Charlotte 704-484-4841 - 24/7 704-336-2412 704-336-2441 - After hours Phone numbers can change, so be sure to check contact information on a regular basis. Other organizations that can help you locate resources in the event of an emergency are: • NC Rural Water Association: 336-731-6963 • NC American Water Works Association and Water Environment Association: 919-784-9030 • North Carolina Rural Community Assistance Partnership: 919-542-7227 • Southeast Regional Rural Community Assistance Partnership: 540-345-1184 - ext. 18 In the future, you will be able to tap into the resources of all of these organizations through membership in the North Carolina WARN System, which is currently under development. July 2008 ------- |