Disaster Response Committee
A Sub-Committee of the Water Systems Committee
The Committee Chair, Daniel Cohen, holds quarterly meetings with the emergency committee to update the committee members on emergency planning and to plan workshops for emergency managers to aid in disaster planning and awareness. The emergency coordinators meetings enable water agencies to network for better coordination in the event of a disaster.
Daniel Cohen
Chair
Ventura County EOS Sheriff OES Water Representative
(Calleguas MWD)
Ann DeMartini
Vice Chair
AWA President Elect
Tony Huynh, United Water Conservation District
(on-call Ventura County EOC Sheriff OES Water Representative)
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Ryan Adams, Geolinks
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Greg Romey, Casitas Water District
Jim Korkosz, Las Virgenes MWD
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Misty Perez, Mayor Pro-Tem, City of Port Hueneme
AWA Emergency Communication Areas
Separated geographically and classified as follows:
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Area 1A - Ojai
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Area 1B - Ventura
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Area 2 - Santa Clara River
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Area 3A - Oxnard
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Area 3B - Port Hueneme & Coastal
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Area 4A/4B - El Rio, Camarillo, Somis, Moorpark
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Area 5 - Simi Valley
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Area 6 - Thousand Oaks & Vicinity
Committee Charge
The main role is communication and awareness of water systems and needs during emergencies. The idea is to be able to get rapid situational awareness during or after a disaster. The AWA helps bring agencies and organizations together to become more informed and work together.
In association with the Ventura County Office of Emergency Services we are able to utilize the Everbridge communication platform to communicate securely and efficiently with those who wish to participate. If your water agency is interested in learning more about disaster planning, please contact the AWA to gather more information, and/or participate in upcoming meetings.
The committee is composed of AWA members and “Area Captains” selected from geographical areas of Ventura County and interconnected neighboring agencies. Each Area Captain is trained to relay incident reporting information up the chain of command for emergency response assistance and situational awareness.
​The Ventura County Sheriff's OES has been working with the AWA since the early 2000's. The communication and coordination of water with over 140 individual water companies in Ventura County was the main focus of the AWA based on prior experience with the events caused by the 1994 Northridge Earthquake.
Major District Representatives
Ventura County Emergency Operations Center Reporting Year
The emergency coordinator representatives from the three big water districts, Casitas, UWCD and Calleguas, take turns, if able, serving as a water information resource in an activated County EOC.
2023 - Casitas MWD - Julia Aranda / Michael Flood
2024 - Calleguas MWD - Daniel Cohen / Tori Hren
2025 - United WCD - Tony Huynh / Craig Morgan
Note: If the "on-call" major district representative is involved in the immediate area of emergency and unable to participate at the EOC, the duty would rotate to the next scheduled representative available.
