Serving Our Community in Emergency Events

Water agencies have been at the epicenter of recent firefighting efforts and Rainbow Water has responded quickly to provide mutual aid to support fire and water agencies. Rainbow Water has developed emergency response planning to identify risk and prepare for emergency events. Below are systems Rainbow Water has adopted to assist with emergency management. 

Communication 
Rainbow Water monitors fire responses via the Watch Duty and Pulse Point applications. Operations Team members are equipped with the San Diego County 800 mghz radio system which provides interagency communications between Rainbow Water and emergency agencies. Rainbow Water supervisors will report to the incident command post of a fire to gather relevant information to keep informed of impacts to the water supply and infrastructure. 

CPR Certified Staff
Rainbow Water's Safety and Risk Officer trains staff in CPR and first aid certification to ensure all staff in the field and office are equipped with skills to quickly respond to emergency situations. Health and safety are of the most importance to staff and the training provided has enabled the Rainbow Water team to respond to emergency events including traffic accidents, fires, and evacuations.

Fire Hydrant Maintenance
Regular inspections are conducted at fire hydrants throughout the service area to ensure all systems are connected.

Mutual Aid 
Rainbow Water is a member of California Water/Wastewater Agency Response Network (CalWARN) and provides mutual aid to water agencies impacted by emergency events. Rainbow Water was among several water districts in Southern California to provide critical mutual aid following the Los Angeles Fires. 

RAWS - Heli-Hydrant
Rainbow Water is home to San Diego County’s first Rapid Aerial Water Supply (RAWS) site, which allows helicopter pilots access to a quick-fill water station to aid in aerial fire support near the Pala Mesa tank in Fallbrook. The RAWS system was instrumental in rapidly suppressing the recent Garden Fire when it was used for more than 30 aerial water drops, aiding in protecting nearby homes. RAWS enables helicopter pilots to access up to 5,000 gallons of water within two minutes via an automatically filled open-top tank supplied by Rainbow Water’s infrastructure. 

Weed Mitigation
Rainbow Water maintains annual dry brush clearance around all infrastructure to reduce the risk of fuel during wildfires. A $160,000 grant was awarded to Rainbow Water in December 2024 through CalOES aided with funding the removal of dry brush around all infrastructure to create defensible space. Proper fuel management was key to protecting the 4.0 million gallon capacity Hutton Water Storage Tank from the Lilac Fire that burned around and downhill from the tank.