Department of
Environmental Quality

Safe and reliable drinking water is vital to every community. Water utilities are in the forefront of ensuring that our state’s water systems are protected against a variety of threats that could affect their core mission of assuring an uninterrupted supply of safe drinking water and maintaining an adequate supply of water for fire fighting.

Threats to water systems include:

• Natural Disasters: earthquakes, floods, severe storms, drought
• Manmade Threats: vandalism, disgruntled employee or customer, computer hacker, terrorist

Emergency Response Planning

Community water systems that serve populations greater than 3,300 are required to have an emergency response plan on hand designed to ensure system security, minimize property damage, and lessen liability. DEQ urges all public drinking water systems, regardless of size of population served, to adopt an emergency response plan. Emergency plans outline the steps a water system will follow if a primary source of drinking water becomes contaminated or the flow of water is disrupted. The purposes of an emergency plan are to:

1. establish a procedure for the management and staff of a water system to follow in case of an emergency
2. help a water system reduce its vulnerability to emergencies

Developing an emergency response plan takes time and effort. Once completed, the plan should be kept on hand for any unforeseen emergency.

Contamination Emergencies: When to Call and What to Do

What should you do if you believe a suspected or intentional contamination or intrusion has occurred at your public water supply system or facility? Call Idaho's Com Center (1-800-632-8000) if your system experiences any of the following scenarios:

• Physical security is compromised or there is obvious evidence of accidental or malicious intrusion.
• There is evidence of vandalism that may suggest intrusion leading to an added vulnerability of the system (e.g., hole in fences or gates, barbed wire cut, locksets removed or destroyed, etc.).
• Suspicious materials are found around a site that is part of, or associated with, a public water supply (e.g., discarded packaging, plastic bags, unlabeled and discarded containers, evidence of marks indicating devices were dragged across the ground, vehicle tracks, etc.).
• An anonymous threat is directed at the facility.

A call to the Com Center will trigger an emergency response telephone conference between you and various state and local officials. These individuals, trained in their areas of expertise, will advise you how to proceed.

Certified Drinking Water Haulers in Idaho

In the event of an emergency, such as pump failure or water quality or quantity issues, it may be necessary for some public water systems to use bulk water as an alternative water source. In Idaho, suppliers of bulk sources of water are certified by the state's seven health districts to haul drinking water in emergency situations.  For a list of potential bulk water suppliers in your area, contact your local public health district.