1971年西尔马地震后，南加州大都会水区建立了应急规划程序。1994年，同一地区的北岭地震对这些准备工作进行了考验。许多基础工作证明是有帮助的:紧急行动中心在40分钟内启动，侦察巡逻队在5小时内完成了破坏检查。此外，当工作人员能够为损坏的詹森过滤计划制造新的管段时，购买重型加工设备的决定获得了回报。1994年的经验教训是，实践课程不会复制地震的实际经验；人类对灾难的情感反应是不可预测的；机构可以期待外部援助，不需要大量额外设备储备；需要制定业务恢复计划，以便在紧急情况下继续办公室工作。 包括3个参考文献。

After the Sylmar earthquake in 1971, the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California established emergency planning procedures. In 1994, the Northridge earthquake in the same area put those preparations to the test. Much of the groundwork proved helpful: an Emergency Operations Center was activated within 40 minutes, and reconnaissance patrols completed their damage inspection within just 5 hours. In addition, a decision to buy heavy machining equipment paid off when crews were able to fabricate new pipe sections for the damaged Jensen Filtration Plan. Lessons learned in 1994 were that practice sessions do not duplicate the actual experience of an earthquake; human emotional response to disaster is unpredictable; agencies can expect outside assistance and do not need large stockpiles of extra equipment; and a business resumption plan needs to be established so office work can continue during an emergency. Includes 3 references.