ORANGE COUNTY REGIONAL WATER & WASTEWATER MULTI-JURISDICTIONAL HAZARD MITIGATION PLAN

The City of Garden Grove and 18 water and wastewater utilities throughout Orange County have initiated an update to the 2012 Orange County Regional Water & Wastewater Multi-Jurisdictional Hazard Mitigation Plan (HMP). The HMP provides a framework for water and wastewater utilities in Orange County to reduce their vulnerability to the impacts of natural and man-made hazard events such as earthquakes, flooding, and hazardous materials spills.

What is a Hazard Mitigation Plan?
A Hazard Mitigation Plan is a framework that guides our communities in making decisions and developing policies to reduce or eliminate risk to life and property. The plan identifies the types of hazards that threaten our communities, evaluates our vulnerability to those threats, and outlines a strategy to reduce or eliminate the risk posed by future threats.

Why is the plan important?
The Federal Disaster Mitigation Act of 2000 (DMA 2000) requires state and local governments to have an approved hazard mitigation plan in order to be eligible to apply for and receive FEMA hazard mitigation funds. Receipt of these funds can be critical to implementation of identified hazard mitigation programs. MWDOC and the participating water and wastewater utilities are committed to reducing disaster impacts and maintaining eligibility for federal mitigation grant funding.

What goes into a Hazard Mitigation Plan?
A hazard mitigation plan assesses the community’s risks and vulnerabilities to hazard events such as earthquakes, flooding, and wildfire. The plan includes a set of goals related to the overall goal of hazard mitigation planning and mitigation measures that will serve to advance the plan goals.

This plan focuses on water and wastewater facilities in Orange County and identifies mitigation actions to reduce the impact of natural and manmade hazards on these critical facilities.

How can the public become involved in the Hazard Mitigation planning process?
Public participation in the process is important because it helps raise awareness of the hazards we face in Orange County and the actions needed to mitigate those hazards. By participating in the process, you will be taking time to consider the hazards in our communities, the impact of those hazards on life and property, actions that need to be taken to reduce that impact, and the priority those actions should take. The City of Garden Grove will consider all input from the public and integrate it into the plan where appropriate. Your comments, questions, ideas, and concerns will have a significant role in the plan’s finalization.

Public Review
Your review of the plan will help the Hazard Mitigation Plan (HMP) Planning Team better understand the hazards in your area and how they could affect the city. The updated hazard mitigation plan can be downloaded using the following link in the Mitigation section: https://www.mwdoc.com/your-water/emergency-management/emergency-managem… .