| The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) on March 28, 2020 released an updated memorandum identifying workers in several critical infrastructure sectors as essential for ensuring security and resilience during the COVID-19 pandemic response.
This document, available at www.cisa.gov/publication/guidance-essential-critical-infrastructure-workforce, gives guidance to state, local, tribal and territorial jurisdictions and the private sector on defining essential critical infrastructure workers and promoting the ability of such workers to continue to work during periods of community restriction, access management, social distancing, or closure orders and directives.
The memorandum specifies the following Water and Wastewater sector employees as “Essential Critical Infrastructure Workers”:
· Operational staff at water authorities
· Operational staff at community water systems
· Operational staff at wastewater treatment facilities
· Workers repairing water and wastewater conveyances and performing required sampling or monitoring, including field staff
· Operational staff for water distribution and testing
· Operational staff at wastewater collection facilities
· Operational staff and technical support for Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) Control systems
· Chemical and equipment suppliers to water and wastewater systems and personnel protection
· Workers who maintain digital systems infrastructure supporting water and wastewater operations
Water utilities are encouraged to use this memorandum to engage their local emergency management agency and access planners to ensure that their water responders have access to their water system assets and sampling points during emergencies. |
