EPA Describes Applications of Water System Resilience Tool

In an article in Water Online, EPA describes how the Water Network Tool for Resilience (WNTR) it developed with Sandia National Laboratories has been used to assist utilities in assessing and building their resilience for disasters. The WNTR is a scientific software package that improves upon already available capabilities by fully integrating hydraulic and water quality simulation, damage estimates and response actions, and resilience metrics into a single platform. The software is available as an open-source software package and can be applied to a wide range of disruptive incidents and repair strategies. In one example application, the Poughkeepsie Water Treatment Facility asked EPA to investigate the resilience of its drinking water system, assessing a scenario involving the loss of the source water to the treatment plant that could be caused by a variety of incidents, such as frozen intake pipes, due to a winter storm event, a drought, or a saltwater intrusion event. Additional community applications of WNTR include the U.S. Virgin Islands Water and Power Authority, the U.S. Army Fort Campbell installation, and the Pittsburgh Water and Sewer Authority. Read more at Water Online.