Courses provide a foundation for supporting water utilities in the development of an all-hazards approach to risk and resilience management. The certificate program is based on AWWA standards and technical resources (ANSI/AWWA G430, ANSI/AWWA G440, ANSI/AWWA J100, and Cybersecurity Guidance) that facilitate sound risk and resilience assessments and emergency response plans.
Students will learn about AWIA requirements for risk and resilience assessments and emergency response plans. Course content will include examples of how utilities can apply the various AWWA standards and resources to aid compliance with AWIA.
We recommend taking these courses in sequential order, starting with the free Certificate Program overview course, Facilitating Compliance with America's Water Infrastructure Act (EL260).
Register for the full program
Package of all six courses below!
This certificate program will provide a foundation for supporting a water utilities development of an all-hazards approach to risk and resilience management. We recommend taking these courses in sequential order, starting with the free Certificate Program overview course, Facilitating Compliance with America's Water Infrastructure Act of 2018 (EL260).
EL265 includes the following six courses:
Register for EL265
This complimentary course defines the AWIA requirements for community water systems and introduces all utilities to the standards and resources designed to improve resiliency and manage risks for all-hazards. After learning how to comply with the AWIA mandate, course participants will understand how existing standards and resources can be applied by utilities to lower risk and fortify their resilience.
Register for EL260
Register for the full 6-course program (EL265)
Water Sector Resource Typing Guidance and Implementation Toolkit
NEW! Launched in June 2023
This course is designed to support water utility implementation of resource typing as a key element of emergency response planning, including provisions in AWIA section 2013. Resource typing, or “identifying and typing resources” in the preparedness phase, is a foundation of effective resource management for requesting or providing mutual aid and assistance. The objective is for a utility or jurisdiction to assess and inventory internal resources to determine their capacity to respond to incidents and identify resources that may be necessary to address potential gaps.
Resource typing is an essential building block of successful preparedness planning and mutual aid during emergency response. Successful adoption of an effective resource typing program will provide the water sector with a thorough understanding of the response capability within a system, identify essential response equipment, develop essential personnel, and staff response teams, which can, in turn, increase the resilience and effectiveness of the utility and allow the utility to support others during an incident.
Register for EL305
This course demonstrates how water and wastewater utility participants can integrate security and preparedness into the culture of their organization. Through an understanding of the elements of a risk and resilience management strategy that are based on the AWWA G430 standard, utility participants will be able to apply these elements to their own organization. The course also provides examples of best practices for all-hazards risk and resilience based on sections of the G430 standard which is titled Security Practices for Operation and Management. The information from this course facilitates compliance with provisions of America’s Water Infrastructure Act of 2018 (AWIA).
Register for EL261
Course EL262 will provide participants with an awareness-level understanding of the J100 Standard for Risk and Resilience Management of Water and Wastewater Systems (J100) and how it can be used to improve resilience at any utility, as well as support the statutory mandate for community water systems described in America’s Water Infrastructure Act (AWIA) of 2018 (P.L. 115-270) The course will begin with an overview of the seven steps of the J100 process and then explain how to perform each step. Participants will learn what types of output to expect from a J100 risk and resilience assessment and how to use the output to lower risk, enhance resilience and support AWIA requirements. Attention will be given to identifying critical assets, selecting appropriate threats and hazards, and developing a manageable list of Threat – Asset Pairs. The course will discuss the “Reference Threats” contained within J100 and also the new threat information that will be made available to utilities as a result of the AWIA. The course will provide examples of how to calculate Consequence, Vulnerability, and Threat Likelihood to develop Risk values, and the resources that can be used to facilitate this assessment. Once the concept of “Baseline Risk” is established, the course will explain how J100 can be used to develop strategies that lower risk, enhance resilience and achieve a positive return on investment. Additionally, course content will help utilities understand what they should do after conducting a J100 risk and resilience assessment. Through a phased approach, participants will learn how to develop an implementation plan that prioritizes risk mitigation activities and balances their implementation with budgetary constraints. Finally, the course will show how the results of risk and resilience assessment can inform the development of an Emergency Response Plan.
Register for EL262
This course provides an overview of emergency preparedness, response planning, ANSI/AWWA G440 Emergency Preparedness Practices and M19 Emergency Planning for Water and Wastewater Utilities. This course will equip water and wastewater utilities to apply the content of these standards along with other current industry best practices, to develop an emergency preparedness program, as well as an Emergency Response Plan (ERP), that improve resiliency while reducing risk. The information from this course will assist utilities to meet the requirement for water systems to develop an emergency plan, as described in America’s Water Infrastructure Act (AWIA) of 2018. Upon completion of this course, participants should be able to undertake the hands-on development of an ERP for their utility or effectively manage that development by an outside party.
Register for EL263
Cybersecurity is the top threat facing business and critical infrastructure in the United States, according to reports and testimony from the Director of National Intelligence, the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Department of Homeland Security. All water systems should act to examine cybersecurity vulnerabilities and develop a cybersecurity risk management program.
Cybersecurity in the Water Sector (EL264) course is designed to provide the knowledge and skills needed to recognize gaps in a utility’s cybersecurity coverage, and show actionable steps to manage a water utility’s cybersecurity risk. This course is part of AWWA’s Risk and Resilience Certificate Program that examines all – hazards in developing risk and resilience assessments and emergency response plans.
Register for EL264