Water Utility Emergency Field Guide: Tennessee - Homeland Security (HS) District 5 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 County EM or 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 (615) 741-0001, or (800) 262-3300 for 24/7 assistance. The State EOC can coordinate your resource request with the County EM or EOC. Utilize mutual aid and assistance agreements such as the Tennessee Water/Wastewater Agency Response Network (www.tnwarn.org) to request resources from other utilities. Keep in Mind: If the County cannot fulfill your resource request, they will look to neighboring counties. If the neighboring counties cannot fulfill your resource request, your County will forward it to your region's Emergency Management Coordinator, and to the State EOC. All will try to locate the resource within Tennessee. 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. July 2008 ------- Who To HS District 5 State EOC 24/7 800-262-3300 TN Department of Environment and Conservation The following toll-free number will dispatch your call to the appropriate Environmental Field Office for assistance: 888-891-8332 (Staffed during regular business hours). Your Environmental Field Office can also be reached at: Nashville Environmental Field Office: 615-687-7000 HS District 5 Phone Numbers*: Davidson County 2060 15th Ave. South Nashville 615-862-8530 - 24/7 Williamson County 1320 West Main St. Franklin 615-790-5752 615-790-5560 - After hours Sumner County 1099 Cairo Rd. Gallatin 615-452-7584 - 24/7 Wilson County 110 Oak St. Lebanon 615-449-0256 615-449-7610 - After hours * Phone numbers can change, so be sure to check contact information on a regular basis. Mutual aid and assistance is available on a voluntary basis from other utilities through membership in the Tennessee Water/Wastewater Agency Response Network (WARN) system. The TN WARN website is available at www.tnwarn.org. Other organizations that can help you locate resources in the event of an emergency are: • Tennessee Association of Utility Districts: 615-896-9022 or 800-486-9022 • Tennessee American Water Works Association: 502-550-2992 • Community Resource Group: 931-296-9044 • Municipal Technical Assistance System: 865-974-0411 July 2008 ------- |