EPA press release on Williamsburg youth job training, Dec 2001

NYC 9/11 Public Portal Document

THE WALL STREET JOURNAL THURSDAY, DECEMBER 27, 2001

Terroris Water Utility Officials Fear ‘Backflow’ From Reservoirs May Be Safe, but House Pipes Can Be Used to Push Toxins Into a By Yochi J. Dreazen staff Reporter of T W he S all Jtreet ournal Neighborhood : In st. Petersburg, Fla., water authori­ Down the Pipes? ties are keeping a closer eye on system- The federal government devotes little money to protecting the nation's water supply wide water pressure. In Cleveland, offi- system, which many law enforcement officials see as a potential terrorist target. cials are weighing whether to add more chlorine to their water so larger amounts • Amount of money spent by the Environmental Protection Agency to combat of the chemical will linger in their pipes. bioterrorism in fiscal year ended Sept 30, 2001: $2.5 million (the agency spent In: Portland, Ore., alarms are now trig­ $10,000 on the issue in 1998, no money on it in 1999, and $100,000 in 2000). gered by smaller drops in water pressure - • Amount that municipal and private water-system officials wanted tc? see the agency than in the past. spend on the issue in the current fiscal year: $155 million. . Across the country, water utility offi­ • Amount the ERA will spend in the current fiscal year, according to recently passed cials are taking steps to prevent terrorists emergency spending legislation: $90.3 million. from reversing the flow of water into a home or business-which can be accom­ • Total amount of money that water-system officials want Congress to devote to improv­ plished with a vacuum cleaner or bicycle ing drinking-water and wastewater plants: $5 billion. pump-and using the resulting “backflow” • Total number of municipal water systems across the country: 54,064. to push poisons into a local water-distribu­ • Total number of Americans served by the systems: 263.9 million. tion system. Such an attack would use util- ily pipes for the opposite of their intended • Amount water systems would receive for immediate security projects, according to a purpose: Instead of carrying water out of just passed Senate bill: $50 million. a; tap, the pipes would spread toxins to Sources: EPA, American Water Works Association, WSJ research. nearby homes or businesses. : Water utility officials say the backflow So far, the only backflow incidents on serves on the National Critical Infrastruc­ threat dominates their post-Sept. 11 discus- record have been accidental. Four years ture Protection Advisory Group, a water­ sions with law-enforcement personnel. Al­ ago, dozens of gallons of fire-fighting foam industry organization-put it in the May though utilities have posted extra guards backed up through the hoses of firefight­ issue of the journal of the American Water io patrol reservoirs and treatment plants, ers in Charlotte, N.C., and made its way Works Association, “One sociopath who un­ officials say the biggest threat to the na­ into the city’s water system, prompting derstands hydraulics and has access to a tion’s water supply may be from the pipes officials to order thousands of residents drum of toxic chemicals could inflict seri­ that carry the water, not facilities that not to shower or drink tap water for sev­ ous damage pretty quickly.” store or purify it. eral days. In 1998, workers at a United Utility officials say that it is difficult to 7 “There’s no question that the distribu- Technologies Corp. Sikorsky helicopter fully prevent a backflow incident, but they hopeful that they can limit the damage fibn system is the most vulnerable spot we plant in Bridgeport, Conn., added chemi­ are have,” says John Sullivan, chief engineer cals to the facility’s fire prevention system through early detection. The beginning of a backflow attack probably would be for the Boston Water & Sewer Commission to guard against corrosion. Some of the marked a sudden drop in water pres­ and president of the Association of Metro­ chemicals backed into the town’s water sure in aby targeted neighborhood as terror­ politan Water Agencies. “Our reservoirs system, deluging area homes with contam ­ ists stopped the flow of water into a home .are really well protected. Our water-treat­ inated water that residents were told not or business. The pressure would then ment plants can be surrounded by cops to drink or use for washing or bathing. There were no serious injuries in ei­ water climb as attackers reversed the flow of and guards. But if there’s an intentional and began using it to carry poison. attempt to create a backflow, there’s no ther case, but the incidents rattled many Utilities regularly monitor system-wide way to totally prevent it.” water officials. Even before the Sept. 11 water pressure, because a sharp and unan­ - Most reservoirs hold between three mil­ attacks, fears of an accidental backflow ticipated decrease-at times other than, lion and 30 million gallons of water, which incident led to the creation of a group say, halftime of die Superbowl, when tens would dilute any poison so significantly called the American Backflow Prevention of milliOTis of American toilets flush-can that terrorists would have to release enor­ Association, which works with lawmakers, indicate that a pipe has burst. Most utili­ mous quantities to do serious damage. water officials and engineers across the ties monitor pressure at water-treatment And most poison would be destroyed when country. The group publishes a newsletter plants and inside the underground pipes the water was purified at a treatment and an educational comic book for chil­ that carry the water to nearby homes and plant. A backflow attack, by contrast, dren that features a character named businesses; some use advanced telemetric could spread highly concentrated amounts Buster Backflow. sensors inside pipes. of poison to a few thousand homes or busi­ Still, experts have long feared that a In recent weeks, many utilities say nesses, making We toxin farmore effec- teiTorist would try an intentional attack. they have increased the frequency of their five. As Gay Porter DeNileon-a journalist who checks. “A small drop-off would attract

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