Drinking Water Security

The September 11 terrorist attack on our country and anthrax incidents that followed have made us much more aware and appreciative of the basic services that Americans rely on every day, including necessities such as safe drinking water. To help the region’s public water suppliers better protect their supplies from terrorism and other hazards (ie: natural disasters), EPA has been working on tools and training specific to the water sector.

• Workshops & Tabletop Exercises
• Small Systems
• Law Enforcement
• Citizens & Local Emergency Planners
• Pandemic Flu
• Mutual Aid and Assistance
• EPA National Water Security Information

EPA New England and the New England state drinking water programs have been working with New England Water Works Association (NEWWA) to conduct one-day workshops and tabletop exercises across the region. These community-based workshops are designed with water utilities as the target audience, but provide opportunities for all the other local emergency and first responders to interact and discuss all-hazards approaches to emergency preparedness and response. The workshops provide access to water security experts and the tabletop segments are done using the EPA Zenith City exercise scenarios. For more information on these workshops please contact the state drinking water security contacts.

To assist small public water suppliers with security and emergency planning, EPA's New England Office developed a Top Ten List for Small Ground Water Suppliers (PDF) (1 p., 68 KB, about PDF). This product was distributed to water suppliers across New England and includes tips to help suppliers protect their facilities from tampering or contamination incidents, and to prepare for potential emergencies.

Drinking water security relies on many different people working together. For this reason, it is important to help educate the law enforcement community about the drinking water industry. EPA New England developed information to help the drinking water industry work together with law enforcement so that in the event of an emergency, the two groups will respond effectively together and the following is currently available:

A top ten list addressing water supply emergency preparedness and security for law enforcement professionals visor card (PDF) (2 pp., 32 KB, about PDF) and poster (PDF) (2 pp., 82 KB, about PDF)

And, a citizens brochure (PDF) (2 pp., 516 KB, about PDF) to educate people who live near public water systems, telling them what to watch for and who to report anything suspicious to.

Everyone in the community has a role in protecting their drinking water sources and infrastructure. EPA New England created tools for both neighboring citizens and for people working in the Local Emergency Planning Commissions (LEPCs) to educate them on what to be alert for in the area of water security.

Citizens' brochure (PDF) (2 pp., 516 KB, about PDF)

Top Ten Tips (Luggage Tag) for LEPCs/Emergency Responders (PDF) (2 pp., 56 KB, about PDF)

• Top Ten List for Small Ground Water Suppliers (PDF) (1p., 68 KB, about PDF)
• Top Ten List for Law Enforcement (PDF) (1 p., 82 KB, about PDF)
• Citizens Brochure: Water Watchers - Helping to Protect your Local Water System (PDF) (2 pp., 516 KB, about PDF)
• Water System Telephone Threat Identification Checklist (PDF) (1 p., 162 KB, about PDF)
• EPA Infrastructure Security Information
• EPA Chemical Emergency Preparedness and Prevention Office
• Emergency Planning & Preparedness
• New England Water Works
• Water Information Sharing Analysis Center
• EPA's Drinking Water Academy
• Top Ten List Pandemic & Natural Disasters Notebook (PDF) (26 pp., 88 KB, about PDF)
• EPA Natural Disasters and Weather Emergencies
• State Drinking Water Security Contacts
  • Connecticut
  • Maine
  • Massachusetts
  • New Hampshire
  • Rhode Island
  • Vermont