Security And Drinking Water FAQs

Since 2001, tens of thousands of pages documenting new laws, regulations, policies, procedures and requirements have been published to protect water infrastructure from terrorists. To help utilities adapt to the new security reality, new guidance documents, books, websites and reports have been produced by the American Water Works Association (AWWA). Two recent publications are noted below.

Security And Emergency Planning For Water And Wastewater Utilities

Years in the making, this book is one of the most thoroughly researched books ever published on water utility security and general emergency preparedness. Written by Stanley States, an international authority on water and wastewater utility security, the book provides everything water and wastewater utilities need to plan, implement and maintain top-level, state-of-the-art security and emergency response for terrorism, biological and chemical attacks, accidents, natural disasters, new government oversight, system vulnerability, risk mitigation, laws and regulations, security tools and practices, emergency management, remediation and recovery and more. The massive amount of information in the book has been organized by sections for quick retrieval:

• Natural, accidental and intentional threats to water and wastewater systems
• Documented incidents and threats of biological and chemical contamination of water supplies
• Documented incidents and threats of physical and cyber attacks on water infrastructure
• U.S. federal legislation, regulation and Homeland Security Presidential Directives regarding utility security and emergency preparedness
• The Water Sector Specific Plan
• Vulnerability assessments, tools and resources
• Risk mitigation by physical protection, access control, computer firewalls, operational measures, contamination warning systems, and policies and procedures
• Effective utility-security programs, tools and resources
• Emergency management systems
• Water contamination early-warning systems
• Incident or threat response
• Public and media communications
• Emergency response training
• Remediation and recovery
• Pandemic flu

Plain Talk About Drinking Water

This book addresses common consumer questions about tap water. The new fifth edition has more information than ever, containing 231 questions and answers on topics including: health, taste, odor and appearance, sources, distributions, regulations, reporting and water security.

The familiar question and answer format makes this book an easy-to-comprehend reference for anyone interested in drinking water, including school teachers, college professors, newspaper or magazine writers, TV reporters, environmental groups, water district officials and doctors. It’s a great resource for water utility employees, too.

Plain Talk is based on the work of James M. Symons, Ph.D., who has written more than 100 technical articles on drinking water and related subjects. He has received eight national awards for his research and publications.

Both books can be ordered online by visiting the AWWA Bookstore website or by calling AWWA Customer Service at 800-926-7337 or 303-794-7711.

Source: American Water Works Association