The Camp Verde Town Council voted unanimously in a 6-0 vote during its June 4 meeting to enter into the Arizona Water and Wastewater Agency Response Network Mutual Aid Agreement, a volunteer program for organizing assistance among utility agencies during emergencies, known as AzWARN.
“Water and wastewater systems provide our community with sustainable resources that are vital, vitally important in maintaining public health, sanitation, fire suppression and safety,” Utilities Director Jeff Low said. “When water and wastewater services are interrupted for extended periods of time, a community’s well-being quickly deteriorates and is nearly impossible to maintain … With water and wastewater services reestablished, health concerns are reduced, livability is increased and the community can rest assured that recovery is forthcoming.”
Low said that the agreement allows utilities to exchange contact information for emergency planning and response and to access the personnel, equipment, information and resources of other utilities when internal supplies are exhausted during emergencies.
“I think it’s another forward-thinking measure that we’re taking,” Councilwoman Robin Godwin said. “We don’t want to wait until the emergency happens or the disaster happens. We want to be, we want to be ready before that happens and we want to know exactly who we can go to and who we can contact and how they can help us. So I really like this.”
Vice Mayor Wendy Escoffier asked if the agreement had existed for some time or if it was a new development, and Low said that not many communities in Yavapai County were party to it with the exception of Clarkdale and Flagstaff, and that Phoenix was also part of the network.
“If we have a pump that breaks or we have some equipment that breaks that’s not accessible through the supplier, we can go to the city of Phoenix and use the pump they have on the shelf,” Low said.
