The Water Laboratory Alliance: Drinking Water Regional Laboratory Response Preparedness Project

The goal of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Water Laboratory Alliance (WLA) is to provide the water sector (e.g., state, utility, and EPA Regional laboratories) with an integrated nationwide network of laboratories with analytical capabilities and capacity to support monitoring, surveillance, response, and remediation of drinking water supply contamination events involving chemical, biological, and radiochemical contaminants. EPA's Regional Drinking Water Laboratory Response Preparedness Project serves as the foundation of the WLA and has resulted in the development of Regional Laboratory Response Plans (RLRPs). These RLRPs are mutually agreed-upon approaches that describe how multiple laboratories may work together during response to a drinking water incident. Following development of an RLRP for each of the 10 EPA Regions and Hawaii, table top exercises were conducted to test the regionspecific plans. These RLRPs are being further tested through functional exercises involving unknown sample analysis across multiple laboratories.