Lowndes County and City of Valdosta Utilities Departments Participate in Emergency Functional Exercise

Both Lowndes County and City of Valdosta Utilities Departments along with Lowndes County Emergency Management recently participated in the Georgia Water and Wastewater Agency Response Network (GAWARN) virtual functional exercise held on Thursday, August 12 at the Lowndes County Emergency Operations Center. The exercise provided an opportunity for both departments as well as Lowndes County Emergency Management to exercise emergency response capabilities in response and recovery to a hypothetical hurricane which affects the water and wastewater systems of our local area.

“While the Georgia Emergency Management and Homeland Security Agency and our local emergency management has the lead during these types of emergencies, GAWARN is also very instrumental in helping meet the needs that arise in the water and wastewater field during these types of emergency situations”, said Lowndes County Utilities Director Steve Stalvey.

These types of trainings are vital for the local utilities departments because valuable contacts and coordination are made both locally and statewide.

“Water and wastewater are essential services, especially during a storm event. It is crucial that we work with our partners at Lowndes County to organize emergency response should we need it in the midst of a storm or other type of emergency event. We are always looking for ways to train and perform exercises to effectively coordinate, share resources and collaborate when needed to provide the highest quality municipal services possible to our residents,” said David Frost, City of Valdosta Assistant Utilities Director.

Approximately 40 different utilities and agencies from across the state participated in the virtual functional exercise which was sponsored by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

 For more information on the Georgia Water and Wastewater Agency Response Network visit www.gawarn.org