Terrorism targeted by world's tap water suppliers

The American Water Works Association (AWWA) urged the world's tap water suppliers to improve security measures against terrorism at their facilities on the first day of the world's largest conference dedicated to safe drinking water. The recommendations came during a workshop on the first day of AWWA's annual conference.

"Water utilities provide a great service to public health," said AWWA Executive Director Jack Hoffbuhr. "Today, AWWA has urged them to take the necessary precautions to protect against terrorism jeopardizing their important work."

Counterterrorism efforts between the federal government and the drinking water community have been under way since a presidential directive in 1998 established the National Infrastructure Protection Center (NIPC). Since then, through the Critical Infrastructure Protection Advisory Group (CIPAG), a group of representatives from several water utilities around the country focused on better protecting America's drinking water infrastructure from terrorist attack, AWWA and the rest of the drinking water community have been working closely with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) and NIPC to ensure the nation's drinking water infrastructure is adequately prepared to deal with the threat of a terrorist act against it.

Part of this effort is an ongoing quarter-million dollar project spearheaded by AWWA Research Foundation with the USEPA intended to develop an assessment tool for determining a facility's vulnerability to unwanted intrusion or attack. The project will also produce a process to help utilities prioritize their security needs. Today, at its annual conference, AWWA advised utilities on how to identify potential threats to their facilities, how to assess the level of threat, and what precautions they should undertake to protect against terrorist acts. These recommendations were incorporated into discussions on improving physical plant and information technology security, and enhancing communications with public health and law enforcement officials at the local, state and federal level.

"The contribution of water utilities to our public health and standard of living is too precious to leave vulnerable to a terrorist threat," concluded Hoffbuhr. "Today the drinking water profession and federal law enforcement have taken great strides in ensuring that vital contribution can be protected from a wanton act of aggression."

Source: AWWA

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