Water on Wheels Cart Emergency Response Demonstration – Sept. 18
(July 24, 2026) – The Environmental Protection Agency Region 7 and the Kansas Rural Water Association invite you to attend a water emergency response demonstration featuring on-site emergency water treatment using the Water on Wheels Cart. The KRWA reports the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the EPA and the Red Cross calculate that one gallon of water per person per day is needed for drinking, food preparation and hygiene when preparing emergency drinking water plans. Each hospital's emergency preparedness plan should include contingencies to provide water for their organization and the patients it serves.
The demonstration is on Sept. 18 in Lawrence. The plan for this event is to use WOW Carts to draw raw water from the river and lake, as well as from tanks for treatment, to produce potable water. This event will also include EPA Region 7's water mobile lab and mobile command center, along with equipment and resources from nongovernmental partners WaterStep and the Kansas Rural Water Association.
For more information and to attend, please email Elmer Ronnebaum at KRWA@KRWA.net. The KRWA also asks that, if the invitation is forwarded to others who might be interested, the contact information be included so they can send meeting updates and maintain a head count of participants. Please reach out to Larry Van Der Wege at lvanderwege@kha-net.org with any questions.
--Larry Van Der Wege