Post on 26-Dec-2015
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“EPA’s Water Security initiative : Integrating the
Water Sector and Public Health”
Wednesday June 20, 2012
Healthy and Safe Community Environments(Track 1)
Presentation Overview
• Background on the Water Security Initiative
• Conceptual design
• Partnering and Public Health
• Conclusions and Resources
Background
• Homeland Security Presidential Directive/HSPD-9– Establishes a national policy to defend the agriculture and
food system against terrorist attacks, major disasters, and other emergencies.
– Signed January 30, 2004
• HSPD-9 requires EPA to – “develop robust, comprehensive, and fully coordinated
surveillance and monitoring systems . . . for . . . water quality that provide early detection and awareness of disease, pest, or poisonous agents,”
Programmatic Approach of the Water Security Initiative
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Conceptual Design
• Large, complex, and accessible:– Commercial & residential service
connections
– Fire hydrants
– Finished water storage
• Difficult to contaminate an entire city via the distribution system, but– fairly easy to impact small
sections or individual buildings
Distribution System Vulnerabilities
Primary Design Objectives
• Detection of a broad spectrum of contaminant classes
• Achieve spatial coverage of the entire distribution system
• Detect contamination in sufficient time for effective response
• Reliably indicate a contamination incident with a minimum number of false-positives
• Provide a sustainable architecture to monitor distribution system water quality
Dual Use Objectives
• Expanded laboratory capability for emerging source water contaminants
• Enhanced knowledge of distribution system water quality leading to improved operations
• Early detection of undesirable events such as nitrification or corrosion problems
• Improved relationship with public health agencies
• Increased ability to respond effectively to a variety of emergencies
Monitoring Components
IntegratedContamination
Warning System
Enhanced security
monitoring
Water quality
monitoring
Public health
surveillance
Customer complaint
surveillance
Sampling and analysis
Phase II.Consequence Management
Remediation and Recovery restores a system to normal operations and may include:
· System characterization
· Remedial action
· Post-remediation activities
Phase I.Routine Monitoring & Surveillance
Online Water QualityCredibility Determination Actions confirm or rule out contamination and may include:
· Site Characterization
· Outside data sources
· Laboratory confirmation
Response Actions protect public health during the investigation process and may include:
· Isolation
· Flushing
· Public alerts/notifications
Public Health
Sampling and Analysis
Enhanced Security
Customer Complaints
· Event Detection
· Initial Trigger Validation
PossibleDetermination
System Architecture
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Partnering and Public Health
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Partner Organizations
WaterUtility
Local Emergency Planning Committees
Local Fire, EMS, and HazMat
Local Health Department
Local Law Enforcement
Local Civil Government
Federal Bureau of Investigation
Centers For Disease Control and Prevention
EPA National Response Center
Neighboring Utilities
EPA Regional Offices
State Emergency Responders
State Government
Public Health and Environmental Laboratories
State Drinking and Waste Water Primacy Agencies
State Law Enforcement
Media
State Emergency Management
and Homeland Security
Agencies
Local Wastewater Utility
Host Facilities
EPA Criminal Investigation Division
Public Health Surveillance
Surveillance Tool Description
911 CallsCalls from customers filtered by health incident categories – analyzed by time and location.
EMS RunsEMS responses to customers– categorized by EMS technician assessment (i.e., symptom categories).
PCC CallsCalls from customers– case-specific assessments.
ED VisitsCustomer visits to emergency departments to seek medical assistance – categorized by chief complaint.
Primary Care Physician/ED
Physician Disease Reporting
Calls made to health departments or PCC by primary care physicians or ED physicians reporting unusual or unexpected cases and/or symptoms.
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Public Health Surveillance
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A PHS alert is detected; email alert sent to User’s
Group
The PHS alert is analyzed by User’s Group entities
and determined valid and without known cause (i.e., contaminated water cannot
be ruled out)
A User’s Group Participant activates the
communicator, which sends out messages to
User’s Group
User’s Group receives message and each entity analyzes pertinent data
User’s Group convene on conference call to
discuss alarm
PHS Communicator Protocol
*This is an example of a communication protocol (used in Cincinnati)*The User's Group for the Cincinnati Pilot included the local public health departments, poison control, water utility, fire department, US EPA, and FBI.
Public Health Surveillance
15(Based on Feedback from the Cincinnati Pilot User’s Group)
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Conclusions to Date
● The Water Security initiative contamination warning system
design is technically feasible for a utility to deploy and sustainable for a utility to operate
● Public Health Surveillance exemplifies the need for partnering
○ Evaluating alerts requires coordination
● A major future challenge will be promoting national adoption of drinking water contamination warning systems
○ All utilities can benefit from development of plans and procedures to utilize the data already being collected more effectively for contaminant detection
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Community-Based Water Resiliency Initiative
• Increases community preparedness by:– Improving integration of Water Sector into community emergency preparedness
– Increasing understanding of critical interdependencies
– Highlighting benefits of preparedness
• Fosters collaboration between utilities and all community members:
– City/county managers
– Public works officials
– Emergency responders
– Business community
– Citizens
• Electronic tool gives communities over 400 resources to develop and implement water resiliency plans
• Website: http://water.epa.gov/infrastructure/watersecurity/communities/index.cfm
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Published Documents
• Available on the Water Security initiative website:
http://water.epa.gov/infrastructure/watersecurity/lawsregs/initiative.cfm
1. WaterSentinel System Architecture, EPA-817-D-05-003, December 2005
2. Water Security Initiative: Interim Guidance on Planning for Contamination Warning System Deployment, EPA-817-R07-005, May 2007
3. Water Security Initiative: Interim Guidance on Developing an Operational Strategy for Contamination Warning Systems, EPA-817-R-08-002, September 2008
4. Water Security Initiative: Interim Guidance on Developing Consequence Management Plans for Drinking Water Utilities, EPA-817-R-08-001, September 2008
5. Water Security Initiative: Cincinnati Pilot Post-Implementation System Status, EPA-817-R-08-004, September 2008
• Available in the Journal of the American Water Works Association:
1. Optimizing operational reliability of the Cincinnati contamination warning system, J. AWWA, Volume 103, Issue 1, January 2011
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Questions?
• For more information on the Water Security Initiative:– http://water.epa.gov/infrastructure/watersecurity/lawsregs/
initiative.cfm
• US EPA, Office of Ground Water and Drinking Water, Water Security Division
Chrissy Dangel, MPHPhone 513-569-7821
E-Mail dangel.chrissy@epa.gov
CAPT Nelson Mix, PE, CHMM