Water Security

Once it was challenge enough for a community just to supply its constituents with affordable and drinkable water. Today, city officials must also take steps to protect their water systems from potential terrorist attacks.

Recognizing the increased need to protect the nation's water supply and utilities from terrorist attacks, Congress passed the Public Health Security and Bioterrorism Preparedness and Response Act—or the Bioterrorism Act—in 2002. This act, administered by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), requires utilities to perform security vulnerability assessments of their drinking water facilities and then to prepare an emergency response plan.

With a drinking water and wastewater system that serves more than 1.2 million customers daily, the city of Atlanta identified needs for enhanced security measures. As a result of its vulnerability assessment to implement those measures, the city established a Division of Security and Safety whose mission is to protect the drinking water source, treatment, storage and distribution facilities; protect the environment through secure and safe reclamation facilities; and plan for rapid, effective emergency response to industrial accidents and man-made or natural catastrophes including contamination and attack. The division is also responsible for strategic planning for security issues and capital financing of recommended improvements.

For Atlanta's Division of Security and Safety, securing the city's water infrastructure was no small undertaking. Each day, the Atlanta water system provides approximately 120 million gallons of treated drinking water to—and accepts and treats wastewater from—a metropolitan area that includes four cities and three counties. Across the 650- square-mile service area, there are 65 water and wastewater facilities, 2,300 miles of drinking water pipes, and 2,400 miles of wastewater pipes. Many of the pipelines were constructed as early as the 1800s.

PBS&J, in partnership with Jacobs Engineering and the PRAD Group, provided the multidisciplinary expertise to assist Atlanta's Division of Security and Safety to meet the requirements of the Bioterrorism Act. According to Project Manager Tom Boyette, "The key challenge is to design an integrated security system throughout the division that can communicate in real time in order to effectively respond to threats and incidents."

The joint-venture team addressed the current needs of the system while introducing the latest security technology. This included evaluating the current security posture of drinking water and wastewater treatment administration and operations facilities; conducting a technical security feasibility study to address physical security requirements and the application of security technology solutions; performing a comprehensive security vulnerability assessment that evaluated threats, vulnerabilities, and risks; and developing an overall security master plan that outlined a strategic approach for security requirements in all 65 water/wastewater facilities.

Water may be free, but safe drinking water is not. To help subsidize the costs for the water's security infrastructure, in 2004 the city of Atlanta initiated a homeland security surcharge to customers' monthly water bills. For a seven-year period, this surcharge will help to pay for the $28 million in capital improvements for security. In future years, the city plans to seek grants and other funding assistance to defray costs.