National Preparedness Month Brings New EPA Power Resilience Webinars and Wildfire Map

EPA’s new Water Infrastructure and Cyber Resilience Division (formerly the Water Security Division) is gearing up for National Preparedness Month in September by holding a new Power Resilience Webinar Series and announcing the release of a new Wildfire Story Map.

  • National Preparedness Month is recognized each September to promote the importance of preparing for disasters and emergencies that could happen at any time. To join in the celebration, look out for resources EPA will be sharing to help water utilities prepare for disasters. For more information, visit gov/waterresilience.
  • EPA’s Power Resilience Webinar Series will include three webinars to help drinking water and wastewater utilities increase their resilience to power outages and prepare for a variety of threats. Register for the webinars here.
    • September 7, 2022 (1:00 – 2:00 PM ET): Preparing Your Water Utility for Hurricane Season and Power Outages
    • October 6, 2022 (1:00 – 2:00 PM ET): Powering Water Utilities with Renewable Energy
    • November 2, 2022 (1:00 – 2:00 PM ET): Space Weather: What Your Water Utility Should Know
  • EPA Wildfire Story Map: The Creating Resilient Water Utilities (CRWU) initiative has published the Wildfire Conditions and Risk Map for Water Utilities, which helps water sector utilities understand wildfire risk by visualizing current and historical wildfire conditions. The map features real-time wildfire data layered with real-time drought forecasts to highlight the connection to climate change impact. You may also want to explore CRWU’s Streamflow Projections Map for information on how drought affects utility operations. The map also includes historical trends and wildfire hazard potential across the United States, including Alaska and Hawaii.

For more information on CRWU projects, please contact Curt Baranowski (Baranowski.curt@epa.gov), Wesley Wiggins (Wiggins.wesley@epa.gov), and Audrey Ramming (ramming.audrey@epa.gov).