City water safety testing document, Oct 2001

NYC 9/11 Public Portal Document

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The city has increased its water testing by 20 I percent to ensure it’s safe to drink in the wake of in­ Y..TXX...................................... -k........................................ ‘

creased terror threats over the last month, offi­ cials said. a The Department of En­ •a vironmental Protection normally takes more than 41,500 samples a year and performs 594,000 tests in I 3 checks for a wide range of targets, including bacteria and chlorine levels. But since the Sept 11 at­ tack on the Twin Towers, ... , _ :J

"We've * ’

stepped [testing] up 5—’. <

so much so, LIQUID ASSETS: The lack of security at the city's upstate water system has been criticized by watchdogs. N.Y. Post: Jim Alcom vfe've had to contract out for different Reservoirs vulnerable to attack: re| rt analyses," By AL QUART ■ Alarm systems were DEP Chief of Staff DJEJ>. CHIEF OF STAFF EXCLUSIVE primitive and could easily oep-taxtor Charles Sturcken said the CHARLES STURCKEN The sprawling network pouce’’ of reservoirs, dams and be disarmed. city had spent “millions” pipelines-that-supplies the----- Fnvirnnmpntal lawyer ■ Fences did not com-. on better securing water­ city’s drinking water con- Bobby Kennedy Jr. claims pletely surround some shed facilities in recent the agency has intensified tains easy targets for sa- the city never followed reservoirs and dams. zs years. testing on samples taken botage and contamination, through with a plan in ■ Unprotected air shafts UJ In addition to increasing from streams, reservoirs a coi^dential city report 1999 to ratchet up security above water tunnels were Q the number of officers pa­ and aqueducts, said DEP located in secluded sites. trolling the area, security Chief of Staff Charles , i u around the watershed. ■ Above-ground pipes had been unproved Sturcken. The report sl^ the se- Although the number of connecting two reservoirs NSnmn%nnatUMt.vf<ntn

“We’ve stepped that up SO much so, we’ve had to cunty of the 2,00(> squ^e-^e watershed Department of Environ- protection cops were not fenced, had no alarms and were easy to nuaeiopa etsamwAWM 8“ through leasing a helicop­ ter service to patrol re­ mote areas of reservoirs contract out for different guarding the city’s water- reach from public roads. analyses,” Sturcken said. supply sites was increased and installing new locking The Post has learned mechanisms in some “In some places where we that the reservoir building tested weekly, we’re now without a roof highlighted testing on a daily basis.” in the report had been Testing at 900 sampling stations in the five bor­ I?^yTthe LSS « described in 4is docu- m -J- gu^ds posted mound the that way for more than 10 years. not been implemented. Army Corps of Engineers oughs also has been ment could have the po- durmg World The report also high­ and other agencies to im- stepped up, Sturcken said. tentikl to cripple the city’s Kennedy said. lighted me distribution The report recom- Prove infrastructure secu- He said the new proce­ ability to operate on a . Findings m the report system’s dependence on mended sweeping “ty,” Sturcken said. dures would be in place day-to-day basis,” warns include: computers. In July 1994, a rbanges, inrlnding hiring Experts say it would re- for “the long term.” the report. BA buildmg at one key lightning strike caused the more DEP cops, central quire massive quantities ' The DEP tests are capa­ Although the report is reservoir had no roof. computer system to mal- station alarm systems, in- of any substance to con- ble of identifying 89 nearly four years old — it ■ Gatehouses at several function and discharge trusion devices, surveil- taminate the billions of chemicals or toxins. Ex­ was completed in Decern- dams were only secured hundreds of millions of lance cameras, building gallons of water in the perts say any biological ber 1997 — the city has by standard padlocks. gallons of stored water. It repairs, floating barri- city’s reservoirs, but crit- toxins which might be in yet to implement many of ■ Manholes that led di- was several hours before cades near dams and ics claim the city should the supply would show up its recommendations, law- rectly into reservoirs the problem was noticed, fences around shafts and be doing more to address in the battery of tests now enforcement sources said. were uncovered. the report said. above-ground pipes. any possible terror threat being taken. Despite those reassur­ ances, the agency is work­ ing closely with the Cen­ ters for Disease Control and Prevention to come up with a series of new Hush-hush dossier is terrorist’s dream tests that would pinpoint In the wrong hands, the confi­ around the city. Key facilities with unlocked those weak links. the introduction of a bio­ dential city report on watershed Environmental lawyer Bobby gates were named, the locations City officials and police were logical threat in the water vulnerability obtained by The Kennedy Jr. described the report of large quantities of unguarded surprised the report had been ob­ supply, Sturcken said. Post would be a road map on how as a blueprint for disabling the hazardous chemicals were re­ tained by The Post. In addition to increased to sabotage the city’s water sup­ system. vealed and information was dis­ On Friday, the city asked a water sampling, the DEP ply, according to those familiar “I would be very concerned if it closed about structures without judge to order the report be kept has 25 boats patrolling with its contents. was widely disseminated,” he alarms or surveillance cameras. confidential reservoirs. The two volumes — marked said. Using a system of one to five “We have made a motion to seal The DEP has also set up “Confidential: Do Not Copy” — The 125-page first volume de­ stars, file report also pinpointed it," said DEP Chief of Staff a hot line for people who were prepared in 1997 by-city De­ tailed hundreds of weaknesses in the most critical spots in me as­ Charles Sturcken. - live in the watershed area partment of Environmental Pro­ the watershed, from upstate res­ tern that could throw the city into In the interest of national secu­ to call if they see any sus­ tection police after the February ervoirs and dams to aqueducts turmoil if there were major inter­ rity and the safety of the city’s picious activity. The num­ 1993 World Trade Center bomb­ and tunnels in and around the ruptions to the water supply. residents. The Post today has * ber is (888) H20-SHED. ing raised concerns about possi­ city. It contained photographs of The second volume contained opted not to reveal specifics of ble further terrorism in and many of the problems. detailed engineering sketches of the report AI Guart * Al Guart

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