Projects

Each project is methodically developed to ensure that the end result benefits our member agencies and the public. Below you will find our current hot projects.

• Local Hazard Mitigation Plan
  • The Municipal Water District of Orange County (MWDOC) and Participating Agencies are preparing an update to its Multi-Jurisdictional Hazard Mitigation Plan (MJHMP). This plan will help create a safer community for residents, businesses, and visitors. The MJHMP allows public safety officials and agency staff, elected officials, and members of the public to understand the threats from natural and human-caused hazards in our community. The plan will also recommend specific actions to proactively decrease these threats before disasters occur. READ MORE
    • Appendix A: Project Website Content
    • Appendix B: Social Media Posts
    • Appendix D: Press Release
    • Appendix E: Utility Bill Insert
    • Appendix F: Blog Newsletter

Orange County Water and Wastewater Multi-Jurisdictional
Hazard Mitigation Plan
Public Comment Form

• Training, Exercises, and Emergency Response
  • Every year, WEROC conducts an extensive training and exercise program that gives staff an opportunity to learn the tools and processes of an Emergency Operations Center (EOC). Their skills and the tools provided are put to the test in simulated response exercises to evaluate emergency plans, redundant communication systems, EOC forms, assumptions, and comfort levels working in the Emergency Operations Center. During recent real events, WEROC staff supported water and wastewater utilities in responding to fires, power outages, and floods. The lessons learned from exercises and the real events of the last year are documented in After Action Reports and incorporated into future training and exercise programs to ensure that staff continue to succeed.
• Emergency Operations Center (EOC) Renovation
  • WEROC maintains a dedicated Emergency Operations Center (EOC. The EOC is the focal point for coordination of all the County’s water emergency response and recovery operations. This year, we will begin the process of upgrading the primary EOC, to be engineered as an essential facility to meet seismic standards in order benefit member agencies and the community when coordination and communications means everything during a disaster.
• Cyber Coordination
  • In partnership with the Orange County Intelligence Assessment Center (OCIAC), Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA)/Department of Homeland Security, the Water and Wastewater Cyber Security Working Group was created and began meeting in 2021. Part of this program includes WEROC providing cybersecurity training to agency IT professionals and coordinating pertinent information addressing cyber threats to critical infrastructure.
• Drought Task Force – Emergency Management Related Activities
  • As of March 2022, our drought emergency shows no signs of lifting in the near future. WEROC, partnership with the County of Orange Emergency Management, established a Drought Task Force in response to the Drought situation throughout California. This Task Force will remain till the needs of the County in relation to the drought are no longer required.
  • The purpose of the Orange County Drought Task Force is to assist in monitoring, coordinating, and managing information relating to the current statewide California Drought Emergency. The Drought Task Force assists in collecting and assessing technical information and facilitates coordination and communication among Drought Task Force members and the Operational Area jurisdictions. Coordination of the Drought Task Force is the responsibility of the Orange County Sheriff’s Department Emergency Management Division, relying on the Operational Area Mutual Aid Water and Wastewater Mutual Aid Coordinator (WEROC) for information to communicate with CalOES based on essential information needs. Their responsibilities include:
    • Convene the Drought Task Force
    • Collect and disseminate data on the status of the drought
    • Establish Drought Task Force meeting agendas
    • Facilitate Drought Task Force meetings
    • Prepare Drought Task Force meeting summaries
    • Coordinate communications between jurisdictions and agencies
    • Forward recommendations to the appropriate entities
    • Provide pertinent information to the California Office of Emergency Services regarding the status of Orange County
  • The Drought Task Force is not intended to infringe upon the statutory or other obligations of water jurisdictions (Special District or City) or of others who are responsible for responding to any particular situation. Both the Drought Task Force and the coordinating agencies serve to facilitate the activities of the Drought Task Force members and ensure there is a coordinated response by local, state, and federal agencies and partners to drought situations.
• Logistics, Supply Chain and Resiliency Projects
  • If COVID taught us anything, water and wastewater agencies’ resiliency and preparedness are more important than ever. WEROC is taking the lead for a regional approach with the creation of a Logistics Annex, which will include scarce resource procurement, supply chain issues and procedures, regional fuel coordination, and specialty labor. This project will benefit the local member agencies but the region as a whole. Additionally, community planning in regard to water commodities distribution is another important aspect of this project.
• Dam and Reservoir Inundation Studies
  • WEROC is currently assisting agencies and the County to meet new state requirements in the planning and review of Dam Inundation Maps and Emergency Action Plans (EAP). Following recent legislation, all Dam Owners in the state must develop updated dam inundation maps and revise the corresponding EAP to follow FEMA Guidelines for Dam Safety. The plans consist of dam failure levels, action plans for each failure scenario, notification procedures, roles and responsibilities of impacted agencies, etc. Dam owners are now required to meet with impacted emergency response agencies and to host annual drills/tests with those agencies.
• Power Utilities Power Shutoff Coordination
  • Southern California Edison (SCE) and San Diego Gas and Electric utilize Public Safety Power Shutoff (PSPS) programs to proactively shut off power in high-fire-risk areas when extreme weather conditions present a clear and imminent threat of their power lines starting a fire. Unfortunately, these programs also shut off power to water utilities and can affect water distribution for residential use and fire suppression. WEROC is working with our Member Agencies, the Operational Area, power utilities, and the California Public Utilities Commission to ensure that the impacts of the program on water and wastewater utilities are mitigated and that notification, response, and coordination of such programs are effective for all response agencies.
• Grants
  • The Federal Emergency Management Agency provides state and local government preparedness program funding in the form of Preparedness Grants and Hazard Mitigation Grants to enhance the capacity of state and local emergency responders to mitigate, prevent, respond to, and recover from all hazards. WEROC continuously works to identify grant projects to increase Member Agency resilience. Recently, WEROC guided agencies to apply for grant funding to obtain power generators and assist agencies in developing their dam inundation studies.
• Safety Center Mobile App
  • Safety Center is a mobile application (phone or tablet) administered by WEROC that contains WEROC emergency plans, member and coordinating agency emergency contact information, and other pertinent resources that can be easily accessed during emergencies. The Safety Center application can be accessed using your mobile application online store. To become an authorized user or to add/delete users for your agency, contact WEROC (jschunk@mwdoc.com) to request access.
    • Apple App
    • Android App