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Contact: Mike Howe/512-238-9292/
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AUSTIN – As the 2011 hurricane season begins June 1, a consortium of water and wastewater utilities is gearing up to make sure that Texans can count on safe and reliable water service after a disaster strikes.
The Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico are going to be more dangerous this summer, forecasters predict.
The National Hurricane Center of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration says its models show as many as 18 named storms — up from the usual 11 — with winds greater than 39 miles per hour.
Of those 18, as many as six could reach “major” status, with winds greater than 111 miles per hour.
TXWARN – the Texas Water/Wastewater Agency Response Network – involves almost 800 of the state’s utilities. Through TXWARN, utilities can be better prepared to withstand a disaster and better prepared to return to serving customers after being hit.
Utilities who sign up for free TXWARN membership may request assistance from other members when their service suffers major disruption. Working closely with the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality and the State Emergency Operations Center, TXWARN has a proven history of assisting utilities during major events, such as the devastating Hurricane Ike in 2009.
“The strength of TXWARN is that one water utility can help another,” said Administrator Mike Howe, who doubles as executive director of the Texas Section of the American Water Works Association.
“Personnel and equipment from one water utility can get directly to the problem and get it fixed,” he pointed out.
Several major Texas water organizations banned together to form TXWARN after Hurricanes Katrina and Rita in 2005. It became clear that restored water and wastewater service is essential to a speedy recovery by a devastated area. Without water and wastewater service, firefighters can’t fight fires, hospitals can't treat the injured, and police and other emergency workers go thirsty.
TXWARN was the third statewide WARN program, following earthquake-scarred California and hurricane-prone Florida. Since TXWARN was created, it has become a model for expansion of other programs in the nation. Some 48 states have a WARN program now.
For more information, see the TXWARN website at www.txwarn.org
Cliff Avery
TXWARN
Texas Water/Wastewater Agency Response Network
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866-989-9276
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