Water Protection Research

Research Focus

The main focus of water protection research is on improving the nation’s ability to protect from and respond to terrorist attacks on our water and wastewater infrastructure. The thematic research areas include:

• Protection and prevention research, which involves developing tools and methods to address the vulnerabilities of drinking water and wastewater systems.
• Detection research, which involves developing tools and methodologies to detect, confirm, and measure accidental and intentional contamination events, and support the development of a laboratory network.
• Containment and mitigation research, which involves supporting the development of planning tools for contamination events, and tools and methodologies for responding to and mitigating such events.
• Decontamination and water treatment research, which involves developing a better understanding of the treatment and decontamination of water infrastructure and contaminated water.

Homeland security research also consists of testing and evaluating commercially available detection, monitoring, treatment, and decontamination technologies. The technologies are tested per the manufacturer’s specifications and evaluated to determine whether they perform as advertised. The results help those working in the water sector make decisions regarding the suitability of these technologies for their needs. More

Protection and Prevention – This research focuses on the risks faced by drinking water utilities in order to better understand threats, system vulnerabilities, consequences of the threats, and mitigation. Given the differences in water source, system size, treatment, and water distribution, each water utility faces unique vulnerabilities to terrorist threats. Homeland security research provides technical support to the Office of Water’s efforts to develop improved vulnerability assessment tools.

Detection – This research can be divided into two main categories: 1) support for contamination warning systems (CWSs) for timely detection of contamination events and 2) confirmation of events through sampling and analysis.

The research supports the Office of Water’s Water Security Initiative (WSi) for developing a robust, comprehensive surveillance and monitoring program to address intentional contamination. The WSi CWS has the following components: 1) online water quality monitoring, 2) sampling and analysis, 3) public health surveillance, 4) enhanced security monitoring, and 5) consumer complaint surveillance. CWSs integrate monitoring and surveillance data from multiple detection streams to enable early detection of contamination in drinking water distribution systems. The development of a well-designed drinking water contamination warning system reduces public health risks due to contamination incidents and reduces the economic consequences that result from contamination.

The research program contributes to the online water quality monitoring, public health surveillance, and sampling and analysis components. Testing of commercial sensors in EPA test pipe loops has indicated the types of sensors that can identify the changes in water quality as a result of contamination events. These sensors are currently used in the first WSi pilot city (Cincinnati, Ohio) and are expected to be used in future pilots. The research program is also contributing to the CWS public health syndromic surveillance data that are coupled with water quality data.

Following the detection of a contamination incident, analytical methods are needed to confirm the event and identify and quantify the contaminant. The research program provides validated methods and protocols for use by the laboratories in the Environmental Response Laboratory Network.

Containment and Mitigation – This research focuses on developing methods to minimize exposure to consumers after a contamination event, determining levels of contaminants that consumers may be exposed to in drinking water, and evaluating the use of modeling to contain and flush a system in order to mitigate the event. Research under this theme also includes determining the acceptable exposure levels for water contaminated with chemical warfare agents or toxic industrial chemicals.

Decontamination and Water Treatment – This research can be divided into the following categories:

1. Decontamination and treatment protocols, technologies, and tools (e.g., Threat Ensemble Vulnerability Assessment [TEVA] support tools)
2. Persistence of contaminants, including microbial inactivation
3. Pipe loop studies, including transformation by-products in pipes and infrastructure
4. Risk communication tools to respond to terrorist events
5. Risk-based cleanup goals to assist in managing, cleaning up, and mitigating hazards in the aftermath of a terrorist event

Future Research

Scientists from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and homeland security research program continue to work together to improve the process of biological agent disinfection and decontamination. This work is coupled with evaluating the suitability of surrogate organisms as substitutes for biothreat agents in research studies.

In response to suggestions made by the National Academy of Sciences and the Science Advisory Board, message mapping tools will be modified as necessary in order to take into account the findings from behavioral science studies. The modifications should help the public and public officials better communicate following a terrorist attack.

Future detection work will include testing sensors for the introduction of radiological and biological contaminants. The optimal number and placement of sensors used as part of a CWS is a result of the development of tools by the National Homeland Security Research Center (NHSRC) and its partners (University of Cincinnati, Sandia National Laboratories, and Argonne National Laboratory).

In addition, as work on protection and detection matures, water protection research will increase its focus on treatment, contingency planning, decontamination, and recovery in the event of attacks on water and wastewater systems. The program also plans to increase research on evaluating and responding to radiological attacks.

Directives

Following the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, EPA developed and initiated a research program to comply with the Public Health Security and Bioterrorism Preparedness and Response Act (2002). The Act amends the Safe Drinking Water Act and its 1996 amendments by adding the following requirements: drinking water systems serving more than 3,300 persons are required to perform vulnerability assessments, and EPA is required to conduct research and review the methods and the means to prevent, detect, and respond to contamination by various chemical, biological, and radiological agents. In addition to the Safe Drinking Water Act amendments, a number of Homeland Security Presidential Directives (HSPDs) drive our water protection research.

• HSPD-7: Critical Infrastructure Identification, Prioritization, and Protection designates EPA as the sector-specific lead agency for critical water infrastructure safety and security, and encourages the development of risk management strategies to address terrorist events.
• HSPD-9: Defense of United States Agriculture and Food directs EPA to develop a fully coordinated surveillance and monitoring program to provide early detection and to develop a nationwide laboratory network to support monitoring and response requirements.
• HSPD-10: Biodefense in the 21st Century reaffirms EPA’s role, adding a clear directive for the Agency’s lead in decontamination efforts. With input from stakeholders, NHSRC and the Office of Water collaborated on identifying water security needs and challenges documented in the Water Security Research and Technical Support Action Plan (Action Plan). The Action Plan was reviewed by the National Research Council of the National Academy of Sciences in 2003–2004. This was followed by a second review by the National Research Council (published in 2007) to evaluate EPA’s existing research and make recommendations for short- and long-term planning.

Products

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Water protection research leads to the development of tools and methodologies such as RAM-W, the Risk Assessment Methodology for Water, which helps protect drinking water and wastewater facilities from threats and attacks. Researchers produce reports, journal articles, protocols, and computer-based tools related to water infrastructure protection. These products are based on scientific research and technology evaluations. The products and expertise are widely used in preventing, preparing for, and recovering from public health and environmental emergencies that arise from terrorist attacks.

Products are categorized by the research focus areas of protection and prevention, detection, containment and mitigation, and decontamination and water treatment. Some examples of products are listed below:

Protection and Prevention – Products in this category include several risk assessment tools and methodologies such as RAM-W, the Risk Assessment Methodology for Water, that have been developed to aid drinking water systems. Future efforts in this area will update the existing water tools to comply with the Department of Homeland Security’s Risk Analysis and Management for Critical Asset Protection (RAM-CAP) program, which measures the risk for all sectors against a national framework.

Another available product that aids in protection and prevention is the Blast Vulnerability Assessment Tool. This tool, developed in collaboration with the Army Corps of Engineers, supports water utilities in assessing the vulnerability of their systems to explosives. Future work in this area will be to add a module for underground storage tanks. A preliminary report on the impact of a radiological dispersion device on water and wastewater systems was developed and is “For Official Use Only.” Future work in prevention and protection will focus on analyzing radionuclide exposure effects along with their fate and transport properties.

Detection – Products in this category have been developed to help rapidly detect and identify contamination. These products include evaluations of various sensors, analytical methods, and computer models. For example, the Threat Ensemble Vulnerability Assessment (TEVA) program developed software to optimally place sensors, TEVA-Sensor Placement Optimization Tool (SPOT), and event detection software, TEVA CANARY, which attempts to trace a contamination event back to the point of entry. These tools not only support the CWS but provide dual benefits as water systems can use them to monitor and optimize water quality. TEVA-SPOT can also economically maximize public health protection.

The Standardized Analytical Methods for Environmental Restoration Following Homeland Security Events, (SAM), Rev 3.1 (Nov 2007) is a compilation of methods for the analysis of chemical, biological, and radiological contaminants in water. The SAM has been incorporated into regional response plans.

Containment and Mitigation – Products in this category help to limit the extent of contamination and/or human exposure. For example, provisional advisory levels (PALs) are being developed to provide decision makers with guidance on acceptable exposure levels to water contaminated with chemical warfare agents or toxic industrial chemicals. To date, health-based draft PALs have been developed for more than 40 priority agents, with 15 to 24 exposure values for each.

Decontamination and Water Treatment – One of EPA’s more important challenges in dealing with a contamination threat is how to treat, contain, and dispose of contaminated water. Depending on where the contaminant is introduced, this may involve actions within source waters, drinking water treatment plants, distribution systems, or points downstream. Contaminated materials that cannot be decontaminated or treated (including piping, filter medium, and water) will need to be disposed of properly. Furthermore, the physical infrastructure of the water distribution system will require decontamination before it is reused. To evaluate the efficacy of various decontamination methods, a series of pilot-scale tests have been conducted, using the pipe loop system located at EPA’s Test and Evaluation facility. These tests evaluate the containment, decontamination, and treatment of contaminants by using pipe loops simulating drinking water distribution system to:  

• Evaluate several decontamination methods for their effectiveness in removing different contaminants from a drinking water distribution system
• Determine the optimal decontamination condition (e.g., flow rate, reagent concentration, pH) of each decontamination method for each contaminant
• Investigate the effect of pipe materials on the performance of the decontamination technique

Examples of products that aid in decontamination and water treatment include reports documenting the outcome of the above-mentioned tests.

In addition, the EPANET-MSX, which is a modeling simulation tool that has expanded upon the commonly used EPANET computer code, was developed to more accurately model the fate and transport of multiple chemical species in the bulk flow and the interactions of these chemicals on the walls of pipe networks. This simulation tool can be used to model the impacts of various decontamination methods.

Homeland security research has led to the development of several risk-related tools. Specifically, computer programs have been developed to evaluate electronic public health syndromic surveillance data in order to identify potential disease outbreaks early. The message mapping tool was developed to enable members of the emergency response and environmental protection communities to quickly and concisely deliver the most pertinent information about an emergency. A video on message mapping explains how responders and other stakeholders can develop message maps as part of their strategy for responding to terrorist threats and other disasters. In addition, the Support for Environmental Rapid Risk Assessment (SERRA) database has been developed to accelerate the risk assessment process and to support emergency response. SERRA contains an extensive compilation of scientific information designed to specifically assist in managing, cleaning up, and mitigating hazards in the aftermath of a terrorist event.

Note that, given the availability of resources to date, research has focused primarily on the higher risk needs for drinking water. Research on wastewater will increase in the future.

Technology Testing and Evaluations – Several detection technologies related to water security have been evaluated. These technologies include:

• Enzymatic test kits
• Immunoassay test kits
• Multi-parameter water quality probes
• Portable cyanide analyzers
• Rapid polymerase chain reactors
• Rapid toxicity testing systems

Decontamination technologies are also being evaluated. These technologies include filtration systems for wastewater treatment and reverse osmosis point-of-use devices.

Stakeholders

The primary user of water protection research products is the Office of Ground Water and Drinking Water’s Water Security Division. The Water Security Division develops methodologies and guidance to help drinking water and wastewater systems protect against contamination events, detect these events as rapidly as possible, and respond to such events to minimize impacts and protect the public. These methodologies, ultimately used by water and wastewater systems, are based on the science developed by NHSRC in collaboration with multiple partners. Other stakeholders that use water protection research products and expertise include the Office of Solid Waste and Emergency Response, EPA regions, state and local authorities, and drinking water and wastewater utilities.