Title: Water and Wastewater Systems
Course: Critical Infrastructure: An Overview > Section: Course Content

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Water and Wastewater Systems

Everyday water is used for drinking, irrigating our crops, washing dishes, washing clothes, food preparation, hand washing, making ice, brushing our teeth, and making baby formula. Plentiful water supplies are important to everyday life.

The sector makes an effort to be more prepared in the event of crisis or incidents, improve the sector’s resiliency, and improve the security of Water and Wastewater Systems infrastructure.

The goals of the Water and Wastewater Systems Sector are:

1. “To sustain protection of public health and the environment.
2. To recognize and reduce risk.
3. Maintain a resilient infrastructure.
4. Increase communication, outreach, and public confidence.”

[1, p. 16]

Water

Potable water, water that is acceptable for human consumption, is one of the main assets of the Water and Wastewater Systems Sector. Drinking water is essential to human life. Water is a valuable commodity. Even though water covers 71% of the Earth’s surface, only 2.5% of the Earth’s water is freshwater. Freshwater can be found in lakes, rivers, groundwater, and in glaciers and other ice. Well over half of the water humans use, is for agriculture [2]. It is also used for firefighting, industrial applications, washing, transportation, ice, and to create energy.

Wastewater Systems

Wastewater is, “water that has been used (as in a manufacturing process)”… or “sewage” [3]. Sewage is the wastewater that is contaminated with human waste. Wastewater can contain inorganic material, pathogens, animals (such as protozoa), gases, toxins, or pharmaceuticals. Because water is such a valuable resource and because an overabundance of non-treated wastewater would result in many health hazards, the goal is to reuse or recycle wastewater. Once wastewater is treated it can be reused as drinking water or for a number of other uses. Wastewater treatment plants can use a number of different methods to treat wastewater. Chemical, biological, and physical treatment methods are examples of possible treatment methods. In areas not served by a large municipality or other water treatment facility, a septic tank and a drain field are often used instead [4] [5].

Why is Water and Wastewater Systems Considered Critical Infrastructure?

Malicious contamination of drinking water could result in many casualties. Terrorists could use the threat of contamination to cause fear and lack of public confidence. The effects of a loss of reliable and safe water supply would reach other critical infrastructure sectors. Economically, an attack or natural disaster that resulted in large prolonged water loss and/or loss of sanitation could be quite harmful.

Regulation

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is the Sector Specific Agency for Water and Wastewater Systems Sector [2]. In addition to the responsibilities related to resiliency and safety that go along with being the SSA, the EPA also works with local government, businesses, individuals, and communities to manage risks to the environment and protect human life [7].

Dependencies / Interdependencies

The Water and Wastewater Systems Sector is dependent or interdependent on sectors including Dams, Food and Agriculture, Health and Public Health, Energy, Information Technology, Transportation, and Emergency Services [1, pp. 63-64].

Threats

Some of the threats that the Water and Wastewater Systems Sector are facing are:

- Natural Disasters – Examples include: earthquakes, hurricanes, tornadoes, and floods.
- Pandemic – For example: pandemic influenza.
- Cyber Security Threats – For example: a malicious hacker taking control of control systems in a water treatment plant.
- Terrorist or Bioterrorist Acts – Examples include: either a malicious attempt to cut off a water supply or to contaminate it.