1
oER^ Water Security Initiative
d st t Program Overview and Available Products
United States
Environmental Protection
Agency
Program Overview
The Water Security (WS) initiative is a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) program that addresses the risk of
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 contamination warning
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.
Figure 1 below shows EPA's approach to developing the WS
initiative.
Figure 1: WS Initiative Program Overview
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EPA Office of Water EPA 817-F-10-011 water.epa.gov/infrastructure/watersecurity/index.cfm September 2010
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Phase I: Develop a Conceptual Design
A WS contamination warning system (CWS) involves
the deployment of multiple monitoring and surveillance
components to achieve timely detection of possible
contamination in drinking water distribution systems.
The objectives forEPA's recommended CWS design
include:
Detect a broad spectrum of contaminant classes;
Achieve spatial coverage of the entire distribution
system;
Detect contamination in sufficient time for effective
response;
Maintain operational reliability;
Minimize the false positive rate; and
Provide a sustainable architecture for day-to-day
monitoring of distribution system water quality.
As illustrated in Figure 2, there are two major operational
phases associated with a multi-component CWS: Routine
Monitoring and Surveillance and Consequence Management.
The day-to-day operation of the five monitoring and
surveillance components of a CWS include:
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.
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, Emergency
Medical Services (EMS) reports, 911 calls, and poison
control center calls.
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.
Customer complaint surveillance enhances the collection
and automates the analysis of calls by customers for water
quality problems indicative of possible contamination.
Customers may detect contaminants with characteristics
that impart an odor, taste, or visual change to the drinking
water.
Routine monitoring and surveillance, along with event
detection and initial trigger validation, determine if
contamination is possible. Consequence management is
the second major operational phase of a CWS and provides
a decision-making framework used to establish credibility.
implement response actions to minimize public health and
economic impacts, and ultimately return the system to
normal operations.
Figure 2: WS Initiative Operational Phases
Credibility Determination Actions
confirm or rule out contamination
and may include:
Site characterization
Outside data sources
Laboratory confirmation
Response Actions protect public
health during the investigation
process and may include:
Isolation
Flushing
Public alerts/notifications
Remediation and Recovery
restores a system to normal
operations and may include:
System characterization
Remedial action
Post-remediation activities
EPA Office of Water EPA 817-F-10-011 water.epa.gov/infrastructure/watersecurity/index.cfm September 2010
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Phase II: Test and Demonstrate
Greater Cincinnati Water Works Pilot Project
EPA deployed the first full-scale, comprehensive CWS
pilot in partnership with the City of Cincinnati at the
Greater Cincinnati Water Works (GCWW). Planning and
pre-design activities for the pilot began in December
2005, were substantially completed in June 2009, and data
collection concluded in June 2010. The drinking water CWS
components are fully operational, with performance data
continuing to be evaluated by EPA.
Elements of each Cincinnati CWS component, as installed,
are noted below, and are described more fully in the report
Cincinnati Pilot Post-Implementation System Status, (EPA-
817-R-08-004), available atwater.epa.gov/infrastructure/
watersecurity/index.cfm.
Water Quality Monitoring
Installed a network of 17 water quality monitoring stations
with capability to measure a variety of water quality
parameters;
Installed a dedicated communication network and
Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA)
system; and
Deployed two water quality event detection systems.
Sampling and Analysis
Established a local laboratory network to support analysis
of routine and triggered samples for priority contaminant
classes;
Implemented a baseline monitoring program to
characterize background contaminant occurrence; and
Developed specialized field and laboratory procedures for
incident response sampling and analysis.
Enhanced Security Monitoring
Installed video cameras, motion sensors, and door contact
switches at three large pump stations and ladder motion
sensors at seven elevated storage tanks; and
Leveraged existing partnerships with local law
enforcement agencies to support the investigation of
security breaches.
Customer Complaint Surveillance
Enhanced the interactive voice response system that greets
all callers to include a category for water quality issues;
and
Deployed event detection systems to continually analyze
data from the interactive voice response and work order
systems to detect anomalies that might be indicative of
contamination.
Public Health Surveillance
Deployed systems to capture new data streams, specifically
911 calls and emergency medical service data applicable to
drinking water exposure;
Established a Public Health User's Group with local
partners and GCWW personnel; and
Implemented automated email notification to notify all
partners when a potential water-related health anomaly is
detected.
Consequence Management
Developed a Consequence Management Plan to serve as a
response guide, and a Crisis Communication Plan to guide
public notification and risk communication procedures
during all phases of a potential contamination incident; and
Coordinated a training and exercise program for utility
staff and local response partner agencies to test, evaluate,
and train participants on CWS plans and procedures.
The use of multiple monitoring and surveillance components
is expected to provide broad contaminant coverage
throughout the core GCWW retail service area, reduce the
time for initial contaminant detection, and improve the
reliability of information generated by the system. Further,
the integration of monitoring and surveillance systems with
routine operations provides many opportunities for dual-
use benefits (e.g., improved water quality management and
customer service).
Evaluation of the Cincinnati pilot will quantify system
performance, derive lessons learned, and assess the cost/
benefit of deploying CWSs at drinking water utilities. This
information, along with data gathered from other pilots, will
be critical in the development of effective and sustainable
CWS guidance for drinking water utilities nationwide.
Additional Pilot Projects
EPA awarded funding for CWS pilots in New York City, San
Francisco, Philadelphia, and Dallas. These four additional
pilots were selected through a national competition and will
conclude in 2012.
EPA Office of Water EPA 817-F-10-011 water.epa.gov/infrastructure/watersecurity/index.cfm September 2010
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Phase III: Provide Guidance and Outreach
Interim Guidance on Planning for Contamination Warning
System Deployment (EPA-817-R07-005)
Developing a CWS is a significant undertaking that impacts
most departments and divisions of a utility at some phase of
deployment.
Deployment phases of a CWS include:
Planning and pre-design;
Design;
Implementation;
Preliminary testing;
Operation and maintenance; and
Evaluation and Refinement.
During planning and pre-design, the utility should
define design objectives for their CWS and conduct an
assessment and gap analysis to identify capabilities for
each monitoring and surveillance component as well as
consequence management. Utilities should also identify
and engage local partners that may have a significant role
in routine operations, such as local health departments
and environmental laboratories. During implementation,
enhancements are installed, operational procedures and
response plans are reviewed, revised, and reconciled, and
training for routine operation, maintenance, and consequence
management should be conducted.
Baseline data will be collected during the preliminary testing
phase of the project. Once a sufficient level of baseline
testing has been completed, the utility will transition into full
deployment, and the CWS will be fully operational.
Interim Guidance on Developing an Operational Strategy
for Contamination Warning Systems (EPA-817-R-08-002)
A preliminary operational strategy developed during
the design phase of the CWS can identify key users and
their requirements for information access, procedures to
guide system operation, information systems that may be
leveraged, and requirements for notifications to key users
and decision-makers.
The operational strategy should be developed with full
participation of the project management team and front-line
staff, including representatives from outside organizations
involved in the design or operation of the system. This
approach will build acceptance of responsibilities for system
operation, as well as ensure that system operations are
portrayed accurately.
Steps to develop a preliminary operational strategy:
System-wide assessment of resources;
Component-specific analysis to develop standard
operating procedures; and
System-wide integration of component-
specific standard operating procedures into a
comprehensive operational strategy for the CWS.
Interim Guidance on Developing Consequence
Management Plans for Drinking Water Utilities
(EPA-817-R-08-001)
A Consequence Management Plan serves as a guide for the
utility that describes the actions that should be taken upon
discovery of a possible contamination threat, as detected by
one of the CWS monitoring and surveillance components.
In the event of a confirmed contamination incident, the plan
provides information on remediation and recovery steps to
return the utility to normal operation.
This guidance document assists drinking water utilities
with planning, designing, implementing, and maintaining
an effective Consequence Management Plan as part of a
CWS. It also provides a framework for the integration of the
Consequence Management Plan with existing plans (such
as an Emergency Response Plan), training scenarios, and
outreach efforts to local, state, regional, and federal response
partner agencies.
Opportunities for Involvement
The following are opportunities for involvement in
EPA's WS initiative program:
Review and comment on interim CWS guidance
products;
Participate in technical studies, such as the Event
Detection System Challenge.
To learn more about these and other opportunities for
involvement in EPA's WS initiative, please send an
e-mail to watersecurity@epa.gov or contact the WS
initiative project coordinator, Dan Schmelling
(202-564-5281).
WS initiative products are available on the WS initiative
website: water.epa.gov/infrastructure/watersecurity/
lawsregs/initiative.cfm
Comments on interim guidance documents are welcome
and can be submitted to watersecurity@epa.gov (please
include the document title in the subject line of your
e-mail).
water.epa.gov/infrastructure/watersecurity/
index.cfm
EPA Office of Water EPA 817-F-10-011 water.epa.gov/infrastructure/watersecurity/index.cfm September 2010
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