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General Security and Resilience

EPA Webinar - Communications Systems for Smart Utility Infrastructure (Thursday, July 17, 2018; 1:00 - 2:00 PM ET)

On July 17, EPA will conduct a webinar on considerations for evaluating and selecting data communications systems that meet the unique requirements of smart utility infrastructure, including remote water quality and security monitoring equipment. During this webinar, the Metropolitan Sewer District of Greater Cincinnati will present a case study about its smart sewer network. A flyer posted below provides additional information on this webinar. 

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New EPA Resource: Connecting Water Utilities and Emergency Management Agencies

The EPA has just produced a guide to how water and wastewater utilities and emergency management agencies (EMAs) can work together to better respond to emergencies. The guide offers six recommended actions, which include building relationships, sharing emergency capabilities, and developing joint messages, among others. Each action is accompanied by a series of steps, resources to assist with implementation, and a case study that demonstrates how a utility worked with its EMA to improve their emergency response capabilities.

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EPA Webinar – Field Response Planning for Drinking Water Contamination Emergencies (Thursday, June 14, 2018; 2:00 – 3:00 PM ET)

On June 14, EPA will conduct a webinar to discuss how utilities can prepare for drinking water contamination emergencies. Planning for these potential events includes identifying activities that utility personnel can be trained to perform in an emergency, planning with local emergency response partners, developing procedures, and conducting drills and exercise. Attendees will learn more about these activities and where to find additional resources for planning and training.

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EPA Webinar – Online Water Quality Monitoring for Distribution Systems (Tuesday, June 5, 2018; 1:00 – 2:00 PM ET)

On June 5, EPA will conduct a webinar to discuss design considerations for implementing and operating online water quality monitoring in a drinking water distribution system. Also, Philadelphia Water Department will present a case study about its online distribution system monitoring program. Register at EventBrite.

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Five Steps Toward Enhancing Resilience to Weather and Climate Disasters

An article from Domestic Preparedness identifies five steps emergency managers can take to put their organizations on the path to weather and climate disaster resilience. As argued by the article’s author, the time is now to take these preventative measures given that 16 extreme weather and climate disasters had losses exceeding $1 billion in 2017. This compares to the annual average of $5.5 billion weather and climate disasters between 1980 and 2016. And more notable than the high frequency of these events is the cumulative cost, which exceeded $300 billion in 2017 – a new U.S.

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EPA Webinar – Enhanced Security Monitoring (Tuesday, May 8, 2018; 1:00 – 2:00 PM ET)

This webinar will discuss design considerations for enhancing the security at water distribution system facilities that are at risk of intentional contamination. Topics covered will include methods to prioritize facilities for security enhancements, intrusion detection, video monitoring, and commissioning best practices. The webinar will also discuss the potential role of advanced metering infrastructure in distribution system security. A flyer posted to the WaterISAC portal provides additional information on this webinar.

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The Energy Sector’s Actions to Address Electromagnetic Risks and Reduce the Likelihood of Power Outages

The U.S. Government Accountability Office has published a report regarding actions the energy sector has taken to address potential risks to power grid reliability by electromagnetic events. Such events could result from natural causes, such as a large-scale geomagnetic disturbance (GMD) caused by severe solar weather, or from human-made sources, such as an electromagnetic pulse (EMP) generated by the high-altitude detonation of a nuclear device.

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2017 Was a Record-setting Year for Billion-dollar Weather and Climate Disasters

According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA’s) National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI), 2017 ties the record year of 2011 for the most billion-dollar disasters since 1980. This total, however, does not yet include the costs for Hurricanes Harvey, Irma, and Maria, which are still being assessed. Excluding these events, in 2017 there were 15 weather and climate disaster events with losses exceeding $1 billion each across the U.S.

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EPA Requesting Inputs on Projects to Prepare Water and Wastewater Utilities for Power Outages

EPA’s Water Security Division (WSD) is seeking input and assistance from its partners on two specific activities in 2018 to prepare water and wastewater utilities for power outages. For the first project, the WSD requests input from drinking water and wastewater utilities, water associations, state primacy agencies, and federal partners on existing content and potential updates to the Power Resilience Guide for Water and Wastewater Utilities.

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