Hurricane Response Guide for Environmental Public Health Professionals
Assure the Safety of Recreational Water Aligns to EPHEPR Function 13
Hurricanes can significantly impact recreational water bodies, creating potential health and safety hazards for communities recovering from the disaster. The powerful winds, storm surge, and flooding associated with hurricanes can damage pool facilities, contaminate natural water bodies, and create dangerous conditions in beaches, lakes, and rivers. Key hurricane-related challenges for recreational water safety include: 1. Physical damage to pool structures, equipment, and surrounding facilities 2. Contamination of natural and man-made water bodies with flood waters, sewage, or debris 3. Increased bacterial and chemical contamination in recreational waters 4. Formation of new, potentially hazardous water bodies in flooded areas 5. Changes in water quality and safety conditions in beaches, lakes, and rivers 6. Disruption of normal water treatment and monitoring processes 7. Potential for waterborne disease outbreaks associated with recreational water use Tasks Implement a water quality monitoring program to regularly test recreational water bodies for contaminants. Identify and control potential contamination sources, such as sewage, stormwater runoff, animal waste, and industrial waste. Issue public advisories or temporary closures when water quality standards are unmet, or health risks are identified. Understand jurisdictional pool regulations to help owners address gaps and meet requirements. Advise on appropriate water treatment methods or remediation strategies to improve water quality and reduce contaminants when necessary. Develop and disseminate educational materials to raise public awareness about recreational water safety and personal protection measures. Coordinate with relevant stakeholders to ensure a unified recreational water quality management approach. Ensure compliance with recreational water quality regulations, monitoring, reporting, and standards. Train local health workers, monitoring personnel, and community members on water safety, sampling techniques, and hazard identification. Establish long-term management plans to address persistent water quality issues and assess the effectiveness of remediation efforts. Develop incident response protocols and remediation plans for unexpected events impacting recreational water quality. Provide recommendations for closing facilities or ceasing operations when appropriate. Provide recommendations for addressing non-compliant facilities or operations. Identify health and safety risks to emergency response personnel involved in recreational water assessments and implement mitigation measures.
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