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August 31, 2005 NACWA Fax Alert

Member Pipeline - Fax Alerts - Sepcial Edition - August 31, 2005

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Special Edition FaxAlert
August 31, 2005

Hurricane Katrina Disaster Relief
A number of NACWA member agencies have inquired as to how they may support Hurricane Katrina relief efforts. Currently, NACWA is working with Federal, State and organizational interests to accelerate the development of what has, up until now, been a pilot of the Homeland Security Information Network - Critical Infrastructure Program (HSIN-CI) and the National Emergency Resource Registry (NERR) that is housed within it. The NERR is a database where individuals and entities can register available resources so they can be matched with identified needs. We will be working with others to customize the NERR to provide categories appropriate for water and wastewater utilities. Although the details remain to be worked out -- the State Emergency Response Coordinators will likely be the ones to make the match.

As a result of near total failure of communications systems (phone, cell phones, e-mails) and difficulty gaining access to facilities -- the extent of the damage -- and needs of utilities in Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama remain unclear at this time. As soon as we have the NERR ready to accept offers of assistance we will notify NACWA’s membership.