Preparing for the Worst
On a cold March night, long after most of the 9,000, or so, folks living in Blackstone, MA had embraced the quiet warmth of their beds, three shadowy figures slowly made their way through the town.
Careful not to be seen, the trio cautiously approached the town’s water storage facility which housed the target of their mission—a 1.3 million gallon storage tank that held the drinking water supply for both Blackstone and part of North Smithfield.
Intent on entering the facility, the small group cut through a barb wire fence, disabled the telephone lines connecting the facilities alarm to local authorities, and made their way undetected into the facility. Once inside their mission was clear—gain access to the water storage tank—threatening the very security of the entire community.
Before the days of 9/11, heightened terrorism alerts and air travel delays, the biggest risk most water systems faced was keeping would-be Romeos armed with a gallon of red paint from proclaiming their love from the top of the water tower. However, times have changed, and as the residents of this southern Massachusetts community soon learned, we all must now take a more focused approach to water system security.
Leaving behind only an empty 5-gallon container near the vent they used to gain access to the community’s drinking water supply, the shadowy trio slipped back into the night. It would be hours before water system officials—or their customers, would know what had transpired at the water treatment facility while they slept.
With the dawning of the morning sun came the knowledge that the security of their drinking water had been breached and the urgent message began to spread that residents should not drink or use the normally safe water which pours so freely from their faucets.
Charlene Gignac, a clerk at a local convenience store that ordered five times the normal amount of bottled water after learning of the break-in, told a local newspaper that she didn’t learn that the town’s water had possibly been contaminated until hours after she had already taken her morning shower.
“I’m wondering, ‘OK, how bad is it?” she said. “But I still have a pulse and I’m still kicking.”
Fortunately for the residents of Blackstone, MA, the recent break-in turned out not to have been a case of terrorism and thanks to a well crafted Emergency Response Plan, the risk to residents was kept to an absolute minimum. Three teen-agers are now in custody charged with taking a prank way too far. An act that once might have gone relatively unnoticed now drew national attention, and was even investigated by the FBI.
In this issue of the Safe Drinking Water Trust eBulletin we will take a look at the critical steps that water systems—regardless of size—should take to ensure that they are not only meeting both state and federal security requirements, but are taking every necessary precaution to ensure that the citizens they serve have an adequate, uninterrupted, and safe supply of water.
How Secure is Your System?
While water systems serving a population larger than 3,300 are required by law to complete Vulnerability Assessments (VAs) and Emergency Response Plans (ERPs) under the Bio-terrorism Preparedness and Response Act of 2002, many small water systems have yet to heed the government’s recommendations that they too should create a plan to protect their most vital assets—the customer.
Don’t let the hefty title fool you, Vulnerability Assessments are simply a step-by-step evaluation of your water system and its operations to determine just how vulnerable it is to terrorist or other intentional acts. In a nutshell, anything that might disrupt the system’s ability to provide a safe and reliable supply of water.
A typical VA can be broken down into six distinct pieces, or actions:
1. Know your system: Define your system’s goals, mission and objectives.
2. Identify threats: Take a good look at your system’s strengths and weaknesses.
3. Consider the consequences: Take a moment to ponder what would happen if…?
4. Assess the likelihood: Determine what type of threat your system realistically faces.
5. Evaluate measures: Take a long hard look at what you are currently doing to protect your system and what additional measures you should take.
6. Plan of action: Consider your risk potential and develop a plan of action.
The Bio-terrorism Act requires, at a minimum, that systems review nine specific portions of their system during the VA process: pipes and constructed conveyances; physical barriers; water collection; pretreatment; treatment; storage and distribution facilities; electronic, computer, or other automated systems which are utilized by the public water system; the use, storage, or handling of various chemicals; and the operation and maintenance of these systems.
Simply put, it all begins with identifying assets, (e.g., people, equipment, facilities) and potential threats to those assets. This process doesn’t have to require an expensive specialized staff of trained researchers to complete. It can often be performed by your very own staff or by a third party, but ideally, it is done by both. Remember, many times an outside observer will pick up on potential problems that you, or your own staff might simply overlook.
Tip: Consider using staff members from neighboring water systems when completing Vulnerability Assessments. This might be a good time to strengthen local relations.
Additional Resources
Utah Department of Environmental Quality Vulnerability Assessment webpage
www.drinkingwater.utah.gov/vul_assessments.htm [1]
ERP…Excuse Me
It isn’t that we have been drinking too much warm soda…ERP is simply the acronym for Emergency Response Plan—the next step in protecting your water system.
Think of an ERP as the guide you will follow when a situation arises that is severe enough to be declared a water emergency—such as finding out that someone has broken into your system’s water storage system.
Before you begin to develop or revise an ERP for your system, there are two steps you should take. First it is imperative that you have already completed a Vulnerability Assessment. You will end up using all the great information you compiled in your Vulnerability Assessment to devise a plan to follow, if heaven forbid, any of the potential problems you identified ever become a reality.
Secondly, you need to identify and coordinate with first responders in your area who will assist you during a major event. This list will include local law enforcement departments, fire departments, health departments, local environmental agencies, hospitals, other utilities, state and federal agencies, and even the dreaded media.
After you have the first two steps out of the way, it is time to get down to the business of protecting your water system. When it comes to ERP planning, 9-out-of-10 dentist agree that there are eight core elements that form the basis for responding to any major event.
1. System Specific Information: During a major event you need to have basic technical information readily available for your personnel, first responders, and others. This can include knowing the location of critical documents such as distribution maps, detailed plan drawings, source water locations, operation manuals, etc.
2. Water System Roles and Responsibilities: Each system should designate an emergency response lead. This person will serve as the main point of contact and decision-maker during a major event. It is also important to have prepared a game plan with your staff before a major event occurs letting them know where to meet and what is expected of them.
3. Communication Procedures: Who, What, and When: Appropriate and timely communication is essential during any emergency. Your ERP should identify clear communications channels for your staff, the public/media, and others. It is a good idea to have an internal and external notification list containing information on all appropriate entities that need to be contacted, including names, addresses, email, and phone numbers.
4. Personnel Safety: During an emergency, your staff may be at risk of harm, injury, or even worse. It is important that everyone know how to safely respond in an emergency situation.
5. Identification of Alternate Water Sources: It is important that you take note of the amount of water needed to address short-term outages. As part of your ERP, you should identify the alternate water supplies available.
6. Replacement Equipment and Chemical Supplies: It is a good idea to identify equipment that can significantly lessen the impact of a major event. You should maintain an updated inventory of equipment, repair parts, chemical supplies, and information on mutual aid agreements.
7. Property Protection: Protecting your facilities, equipment and records is essential when it comes time to restore operations following a major event. Your ERP should identify measures and procedures aimed at protecting your system including: lock-down procedures, access control procedures, evidence protection measures, etc.
8. And Last, but not least…Water Sampling and Monitoring: It is important that water sampling and monitoring are an integral part of your ERP. How else can you determine whether the drinking water you supply is safe for public use and consumption?
Remember, an Emergency Response Plan isn’t a document that should be placed on a shelf to collect dust. It is a living document that needs fresh air and a little revising each year. It is also a document that will contain sensitive plans and information that should not be made public, so make sure that it is accessible and understood by your staff and not others.
Additional Resources
EPA Small System Guide
www.epa.gov/safewater/watersecurity/pubs/small_medium_ERP_guidance040704.pdf [2]
EPA’s Emergency Response Tabletop Exercises for Drinking Water and Wastewater Systems
www.epa.gov/safewater/watersecurity/pubs/tabletop_cd_factsheet.pdf [3]
It’s Best to Be Prepared
Fortunately for those living in the normally quiet community of Blackstone, MA, the threat to public health created when the security at their water storage facility was breached was kept to a minimum thanks, in part, to good planning.
A recent poll conducted at Columbia University found that only 35 percent of Americans truly believe that their community has an adequate emergency response plan in place.
Never fear, help is available from a number of technical assistance organizations and government agencies including:
• Rural Community Assistance Partnership (www.rcap.org [4])
• National Environmental Services Center (www.nesc.wvu.edu/ndwc/ndwc_index.htm [5])
• State Primacy Agencies (www.epa.gov/safewater/dwinfo/index.html [6])
• Environmental Protection Agency’s Safe Drinking Water Hotline
1-(800) 426-4791
With the help of these organizations and others dedicated to creating and providing comprehensive training programs for small water systems, it is possible to provide increased security at little, or no, cost to your customers.