Tip of the Week – October 8, 2026

Supply Chain Resilience for Water and Wastewater Utilities

Supply chain disruptions can emanate from a variety of contingencies and can lead to operational impacts for water and wastewater utilities. During COVID-19, for example, supply chain disruptions threatened the supply of chemicals necessary to treat drinking water and wastewater. Additionally, amidst a volatile geoeconomic environment, understanding your supply chain dependencies is crucial for ensuring your utility’s operational resilience.

Utilities can help mitigate the risk of supply chain shocks by understanding their supplier dependencies and planning for disruptions. Some important aspects in preparing for and mitigating supply chain risk include monitoring potential threats, identifying multiple suppliers of a particular product, and ensuring an adequate supply of materials on site. Towards that end, EPA’s Office of Water Emergency Response and Cybersecurity (OWERC) has a number of free resources, products, and services, including case studies that offer best practices to help utilities enhance their supply chain resilience.

Resource: Water and Wastewater Sector Supply Chain Resilience