Security Practices Primer for Water Utilities

Among America's critical infrastructures, none is more fundamental to the health and welfare of our citizens than the systems used to collect, treat, and distribute potable water. While security is a widely understood concept, the discipline of providing security for critical infrastructures continues to develop. The objective of this project was to provide utility managers and the water community with a comprehensive, easy-to-use primer on security-related policies and procedures. The study focused on how organizations incorporate security procedures into routine operational areas such as human resources, information dissemination, emergency response, media relations, and community coordination. The product should facilitate informed decision-making by utility managers concerning what policies they may want to adopt when addressing security concerns. This document provides guidance regarding security issues in five major categories: 1. Human Resources. 2. Physical and Operational Security. 3. Internal and External Coordination. 4. Technical and Contamination Response. 5. Information and Communication Security For each security practice, the report defines the purpose, general characteristics of a sound practice, implementation impediments, and legal considerations. Appendix B on CD-ROM includes examples of policies and procedures. Extensive research was conducted on security measures related to the protection of water-related organizations and infrastructure. Research consisted of a review of published literature and electronic information available on the Internet. In addition, the Project Team reached out to organizations and stakeholders with information relevant to security and anti-terrorism preparedness. A questionnaire was designed to solicit specific security information that would be useful to the water industry. This tool was distributed to 82 water utilities and 27 representatives from other industries with proven security practices. The findings from the literature review and outreach were reviewed in a workshop involving select managers from public and private water utilities, the Project Advisory Committee (PAC), state representatives, a representative from Sandia National Laboratories, and contractor and AwwaRF staff.