Skip to main content
NC DEQ logo NC DEQ

Topical Navigation

  • Home
  • Divisions
    Divisions
    • Air Quality
    • Coastal Management
    • Energy, Mineral, and Land Resources
    • Environmental Assistance and Customer Service
    • Environmental Education and Public Affairs
    • Marine Fisheries
    • Mitigation Services
    • Waste Management
    • Water Infrastructure
    • Water Resources
  • Permits & Rules
    Permits & Rules
    • Permit Directory
    • State Environmental Policy Act (SEPA)
    • Express Permitting
    • DEQ Forms
    • Permit Assistance and Guidance
    • Rules & Regulations
    • Enforcement
    • NC DEQ ePayments
    • DEQ Permitting Transformation Program
    • Environmental Application Tracker
    • Pre-Regulatory Landfills Map
    • Title VI Compliance
    • Risk-Based Remediation
  • Outreach & Education
    Outreach & Education
    • N.C. Environmental Education
    • Distance Learning - Environmental Education
    • Environmental Justice
    • Educator Resources
    • Recognition Programs
    • Public Involvement Programs
    • Training
    • Recreation
    • Research
    • Grants
    • Conservation
    • Recycling
  • Energy & Climate
    Energy & Climate
    • Energy Group
    • Climate Change
    • Community Solar
    • Energy Assurance
    • Energy Efficiency and Weatherization
    • Energy Resilience
    • Transportation
    • Workforce Development
    • Offshore Wind Development
  • News
    News
    • Press Releases
    • Public Information Contacts
    • Environmentally Speaking Blog
    • Public Notices & Hearings
    • Events
    • Key Issues
    • DEQ Dashboard
    • Legislative Reports
    • Requesting Public Records
  • About
    About
    • Our Mission
    • Leadership
    • Boards and Commissions
    • Divisions
    • Green Square
    • Contact
    • Work at DEQ
  • NC.GOV
  • AGENCIES
  • JOBS
  • SERVICES
NC DEQ »   About »   Divisions »   Water Resources »   Drinking Water »   Emergency Planning »   Winter Storm Planning

Winter Storm Planning

When Winter Brings Disaster

Ice and snow storms can cripple a community in several different ways. Here is a list of problems that winter storms can bring:

  • Power and communications disrupted because of downed lines (power outages).
  • Highways and roads closed (chemical delivery stops, employees miss work).
  • Ice may damage water infrastructure and make work conditions hazardous.
  • Floods may be associated with the storm.
  • Difficulty in obtaining medical care (unable to get to hospital - ambulances blocked by snow-covered roads).
  • Fire and police delayed in responding to emergencies.
  • Businesses closed (but not the water system).

You can plan for these events. Having backup power generators, a chemical inventory, and interconnections with neighboring systems can make a big difference in the severity of your emergency. Don't forget to top off your storage tanks! Tell your customers to fill clean containers with drinking water and tubs with water for flushing.

Current Information

The most current national information about storms is maintained by the National Storm Prediction Center. You can have weather advisories forwarded to your cell phone from this site. You can also get links to access the page from your web-enabled phone to get the whole story while you are on-the-go.

Winter Storm Planning

  • Ready.gov - Snowstorms & Extreme Cold
  • CDC Winter Weather Planning Site

Emergency Planning Guidance

Winter Storms are capable of engaging many organizations in one emergency response. The National Incident Management System and the Incident Command System are needed to effectively work with the incident response personnel from other organizations. Holding tabletop exercises as part of your preparedness planning is recommended to test the effectiveness of your plan and your internal and external emergency communications. Joining N.C. WaterWARN would be one step that could give you a real advantage in re-starting your system after a winter storm.

Emergency Planning

  • Developing Tabletop Exercises
  • Emergency Management Plans
  • Hurricane Planning
  • Incident Specific Action Plan
  • National Incident Management System and Incident Command System
  • Pandemic Flu Planning
  • Post Event Tracking of Water System Status
  • Winter Storm Planning

Share this page:

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Email

How can we make this page better for you?

Back to top

Contact Us

Physical Address
North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality
217 West Jones Street
Raleigh, NC 27603 Map It
877-623-6748

Mailing Addresses

Work for Us

  • Job Opportunities at DEQ
  • For State Employees
  • DEQ Intranet

Twitter Feed

Tweets by NC DEQ

Follow Us

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • YouTube
  • LinkedIn
  • DEQ Employee Directory
  • Translation Disclaimer
  • Accessibility
  • Terms of Use
  • Privacy Policy
  • Open Budget
NC DEQ
https://deq.nc.gov/about/divisions/water-resources/drinking-water/emergency-planning/winter-storm-planning