Farm and Home Biosecurity
Consumer/General Public and Livestock/Row Crop Producer
Water Supply Systems - Terrorism Target?
One of the first things people think about when assessing points of risk to
human health is the water supply. In history there are multitudes of examples
that describe poisoning wells, springs, and other public water supply sources as
a means for gaining strategic advantage. The terroristic acts of September 11,
2001 and subsequent events have led people to a heightened level of concern for
aspects of life that are generally taken for granted. We drink from, fish in,
ski on, swim in, and otherwise come into contact with water on an everyday basis
with little fear of its quality having a negative impact on our lives. As a
resource it is the most accessible, least secure human health necessity in our
daily life. It is the place where people feel most vulnerable. Average citizens
tend to have absolute trust in the safety and security of their public water
source. At least, that is, until now.
Recent arrests that were made in Italy associated with apparent plans to
contaminate the water supply for the American Embassy and waterborne illnesses
as a result of water processing failures in the upper mid-west and Canada raised
the public’s level of awareness of water source risk. These examples just
underscore the strategic nature of water sources as an avenue through which
citizens may be exposed to acts of terrorism.
Actions are being taken to strengthen the security surrounding community
water sources. Training of community based personnel is now specifically
inclusive of minimizing risk or hardening areas that have potential as targets.
Specific circumstances surrounding individual facilities govern the actions
appropriate to the situation. Local and state water facility managers are being
trained and provided with management protocols designed to minimize risk.
Agencies like the Arkansas Department of Health, the Arkansas Soil and Water
Conservation Commission, and the Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality
are including bio-terrorism training and water-supply system risk in their
management strategies for protecting source water.
The University of Arkansas Cooperative Extension Service is including source
water protection as a component of its in-service training program for County
Agents. The Agency is also working jointly with the University of Arkansas
Criminal Justice Institute, the University of Arkansas Medical Sciences Center,
and other interested state agencies and organizations to build the basis for a
rural focused bio-security training program that includes water-source
protection.
The attached articles were recently published in statewide newsletters
focused to the needs of water management professionals. The articles describe
the current situation and risk associated with managing and using water from
public sources. They are reprinted here with permission from the author or
editor.
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