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are at
Water Infrastructure Security
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Intake
Water Pump Room
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Sedimentation
Pool
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Corona
Discharge Ozonization Systems
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Power
Control Panel
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Distribution
Pumps
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The
objective of the "Water Infrastructure Surety / Security"
is to develop measures to reduce the risks and mitigate
the consequences of terrorist or other criminal attacks
on the nation's water supply, treatment, and distribution
systems.
The
US
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the agency responsible
for protecting the water supply, is collaborating with Sandia
National Laboratories and the American Water Works Association
Research Foundation (AwwaRF) to develop a risk
assessment methodology for assessing the vulnerability of
water systems
that serve the nation's 340 cities with 100,000 or more
residents. Many are more than 60 years old and were built
without particular concern for security.
Assessment
tools are developed and being implemented in water utility
facilities. The assessment tools stem from a performance-based
vulnerability assessment methodology, initially developed
by Sandia, to support the national nuclear security mission.
It has since been modified to evaluate the vulnerability
to terrorist attack of government buildings, air force bases,
nuclear power plants, nuclear processing facilities, prisons,
and federal dams. In general, assessment of the vulnerability
of their water infrastructure consists of three major steps:
detect, delay, and respond.
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The
first step is to determine how well the system detects
a problem, which involves surveying all security and monitoring
features.
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The
second one is to measure delay capabilities, in an effort
to determine how well the system can stop undesired events.
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The
final step is to measure response capabilities - determining
the capacity of private guard forces, and local, state,
and federal authorities to respond.
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