SMW Attorney Presents on Disaster Response to the Association of California Water Agencies
February 17, 2023Severely eroded portion of the California Coastal Trail. All photos courtesy of City of Half Moon Bay.
SMW attorney Catherine Engberg presented on the topic of disaster response to the Water Quality Committee of the Association of California Water Agencies (ACWA). The 2023 winter storms / atmospheric river severely impacted SMW client City of Half Moon Bay, as well as its sewer agency, Sewer Authority Mid-Coastside (SAM). The storms caused flooding of public and private property, and at the SAM wastewater treatment plant, threatening its operations. While the City was responding to and recovering from the storms, the City experienced a mass shooting, killing seven people and critically injuring another person.
Catherine co-presented with Councilmember Debbie Ruddock and Public Works Director Maz Bozorginia on the topics of mutual aid, declarations of local emergency, state and federal reimbursement, and lessons learned.
Flooding at the SAM Wastewater Treatment Plant.
Vigil for the victims of the January 23, 2023 mass shooting.