EPA’s Water Quality Surveillance and Response System Program Can Help Utilities Enhance Resilience

Monitoring source water and ensuring the safety of water supplies is a critical task for utilities. To help with that, EPA’s Water Infrastructure and Cyber Resilience Division (WICRD) created the “Water Quality Surveillance and Response System Program.” This program offers a framework designed to support the monitoring and management of distribution system water quality, including utility response to emergencies.

A Water Quality Surveillance and Response System (WQ-SRS) is a framework designed to support monitoring and management of distribution system water quality, according to WICRD. The system consists of one or more components that augment a water utility’s capability to quickly detect and respond to water quality issues. Early warning and effective response to a deterioration in water quality can prevent a more serious incident from occurring. The WQ-SRS components fall under two operational phases: surveillance and response. “Surveillance components provide real-time data on conditions throughout the distribution system. Response components provide a framework for making response decisions,” according to WICRD.

WICRD offers four types of technical and planning assistance that can help build resilience:

• Primers for WQ-SRS include videos and documents to learn about the design of a complete WQ-SRS.
• The WQ-SRS Capability Assessment Tool facilitates a self-assessment that helps drinking water systems identify existing surveillance and response capabilities and provides guidance on strategies for enhancing those capabilities.
• Resources for Designing WQ-SRSs serves as an extensive library of guidance to help drinking water systems design their own WQ-SRSs.
• Water Quality Surveillance and Response System Exercise Development Toolbox helps utilities design and conduct drills and exercises to test the functionality and performance of surveillance systems and response procedures.

Ultimately, water and wastewater utilities can experience contamination incidents, either intentional or accidental, from a variety of sources. Additionally, increasing extreme weather events could lead to more instances of contamination, including after wildfires or floods, highlighting the importance of preparedness. Accordingly, utilities are highly encouraged to review EPA’s WQ-SRS program and build capabilities to detect and prepare for source water and drinking water contamination incidents. Read more about the program here.

Additional Mitigation Recommendations:

• To help prepare for contamination incidents, utilites are encouraged to review EPA’s “Planning for and Responding to Drinking Water Contamination Threats and Incidents” guidebook.
• Utilities can also utilize the Drinking Water Utility Response Protocol Toolbox (DWRPTB) and Wastewater Utility Response Protocol Toolbox (WWRPTB), which helps water and wastewater utilities address contamination events at the utility and within the distribution and collection systems. 
• In addition, EPA offers guidance on handling contaminated water for drinking water and wastewater utilities.