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U.S. EPA Water Security Initiative
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Water Security Initiative Overview
The Water Security (WS) initiative is a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) program that addresses
the risk of intentional contamination of drinking water distribution systems. EPA established this initiative in
response to Homeland Security Presidential Directive 9, under which the Agency must "develop robust,
comprehensive, and fully coordinated surveillance and monitoring systems, including international information,
for... water quality that provides early detection and awareness of disease, pest, or poisonous agents"
EPA is implementing the WS initiative in three phases: (Phase I) develop the conceptual design of a system for
timely detection and appropriate response to drinking water contamination incidents to mitigate public health
and economic impacts; (Phase II) test and demonstrate contamination warning systems through pilots at
drinking water utilities and municipalities and make refinements to the design as needed based upon pilot
results; and (Phase III) develop practical guidance and outreach to promote voluntary national adoption of
effective and sustainable drinking water contamination warning systems. Each of these phases is further
described below.
Phase 1 - Conceptual Design
The design of the WS initiative's contamination warning system involves the deployment of multiple
monitoring and surveillance components to achieve timely detection of possible contamination in drinking water
distribution systems. The use of multiple components is expected to attain overall faster detection of a broader
range of potential contaminants than reliance on a single technology. Further, the WS components were chosen
to be sustainable for long-term operation and to provide "dual-use" benefits to drinking water utilities, such as
improved water quality management. The WS contamination warning system components are as follows:
*J* Online water quality monitoring comprises stations located throughout the distribution system that measure
chlorine, total organic carbon, conductivity, and other parameters. Software analyzes the monitoring data to
establish baseline parameter levels. Possible contamination is indicated when a significant deviation from a
baseline occurs.
*J* Public health surveillance involves the analysis of health-related data to identify disease events that may
stem from drinking water contamination. Public health data may include over the counter drug sales,
hospital admission reports, infectious disease surveillance, EMS reports, 911 calls, and poison control center
calls.
*J* Sampling and analysis is the collection of distribution system samples that are analyzed for classes of
contaminants, as well as specific contaminants. Sampling is both routine, to establish a baseline, and
triggered, to respond to an indication of possible contamination from another component. Analyses are
conducted for chemicals, radionuclides, pathogens, and toxins using a laboratory network.
* Enhanced security monitoring includes the equipment and procedures that detect and respond to security
breaches at distribution system facilities. Security equipment may be cameras, motion sensing lights, door
contacts, ladder and window motion detectors, and access hatch detectors.
*J* Consumer complaint surveillance enhances the collection and automates the analysis of calls by consumers
for water quality problems indicative of possible contamination. Consumers may detect contaminants with
characteristics that impart an odor, taste, or visual change to the drinking water.
Another key aspect of the WS contamination warning system design is the development of a consequence
management plan. This plan is intended to guide the utility through the process of determining whether a
possible contamination event, as indicated by one of the WS surveillance components, is credible and can be
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confirmed. It also assists the utility in working with local partners, communicating with the public, and
determining appropriate response-actions. In the event of actual contamination, the plan provides information
on remediation and recovery steps to return the utility to normal operation.
Phase 2 - Pilots at Drinking Water Utilities
EPA is currently implementing the first WS contamination warning system pilot in partnership with the City of
Cincinnati at the Greater Cincinnati Water Works (GCWW). This pilot consists of all five monitoring and
surveillance components and a consequence management plan as described above. Implementation of this pilot
began in June 2006, and deployment of the pilot components was completed in July 2007. The next stages of
this pilot include full operation and evaluation.
In April 2008, the Agency will award funding for contamination warning system pilots in New York City and
another city to be publicly announced shortly. Further, two additional cities have been selected for pilots and
are expected to be funded when the award process is completed. New York City and the three additional pilots
were selected through a national competition. They will be three year projects carried out as cooperative
agreements with the Agency.
These pilots will provide information on many facets of the WS contamination warning system, such as the
performance of monitoring and surveillance components; approaches for reducing false alarms; effective
consequence management planning; costs and benefits, including dual-use applications and sustainability; and
efficient approaches to design and implementation.
Phase 3 - Guidance and Outreach
EPA is developing guidance documents from the WS initiative in interim and final versions. This approach will
allow dissemination of information from the WS initiative to stakeholders who are involved in contamination
warning system activities in the near term, while also providing the opportunity for incorporating lessons
learned from the pilots to enhance and refine the guidance. The following are WS guidance documents that
EPA intends to release through 2008:
*J* Interim Guidance on Planning for Contamination Warning System Deployment (May 2007) will assist
drinking water utilities in planning for contamination warning system deployment based on the WS
initiative model.
*J* WS Interim Consequence Management Plan Guidance (Summer 2008) will assist drinking water utilities
in the development and implementation of a utility-specific consequence management plan for an existing
or emerging contamination warning system.
*J* WS Interim Operational Strategy Guidance (Summer 2008) will describe the process and procedures
involved in routine operation of a contamination warning system, including process and information flows,
roles and responsibilities, and the initial investigation and validation of alarms.
In addition to these documents, EPA intends to release technical findings, reports, and tools from the WS
initiative as they become available.
Resources for Additional Information on the Water Security Initiative
For questions or comments on the WS initiative, see http://cfpub.epa.gov/safewater/watersecuritv/initiative.cfm
or contact Dan Schmelling, WS Project Coordinator, at 202-564-5281 (Schmelling.dan@epa.gov).
April 2008
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