This week, the National Institute of Justice (NIJ) published the results of a study that combines two existing analytical tools, risk terrain modeling and conjunctive analysis, to link geographic location and the risk of terrorism, with the goal of identifying opportunities for more effective interventions.
Last year was WaterISAC’s 20th anniversary, marking an incredible milestone for our organization. Throughout 2022, WaterISAC continued to increase outreach, grow membership, execute a new event - H2OSecCon, and enhance resources that benefit the water and wastewater sector, while playing a vital role and voice on critical issues and security challenges facing our critical infrastructures. We captured the highlights of our 20th in WaterISAC’s 2022 Year-In-Review and encourage you to join us in taking a look back.
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is providing more than $2 billion for eight fiscal year 2023 preparedness grant programs, which are intended to provide critical funding to help state and local officials prepare for, prevent, protect against, and respond to acts of terrorism and other hazards.
Last week the Department of the Interior announced $728 million in investments to support water conservation and reliability to improve resilience to drought and climate change. A significant amount of the funding came from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law passed in late 2021.
Could your utility use assistance developing a decision-making process or rationale for proceeding with a security project or program? If so, the newly released Making a Business Case for Security from the CISA-led Interagency Security Committee (ISC) can help.
Researchers from the University of North Carolina have published a new study shedding light on communities continuing to develop in flood-prone areas despite efforts designed to reduce risks like buyouts, elevated structures, and upgraded infrastructure. The findings have important implications given that the increased frequency and intensity of extreme weather events.
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security has posted an article covering efforts by its Science and Technology Directorate to improve wildfire resilience in Oregon, specifically in the area of monitoring and tracking fires in as timely and accurate a manner as possible. Two new types of wildfire sensors, developed in a collaboration between companies from Maryland and Germany, have been installed in Oregon, deployed in parallel with the West Coast’s ALERTWildfire network, and operated by Oregon Hazards Lab at the University of Oregon.
Smart Water Magazine has written an article discussing research by the Argonne National Laboratory on new drought models and their impact on the United States. The Midwest is a special area of concern, already suffering from what scientists call a “flash drought,” where flash flood-inducing rain occurs between month-long periods of drought-like conditions.
EPA is making more than $6 billion available for loans to help fund water and wastewater projects, including through its new State infrastructure financing authority WIFIA (SWIFIA) program. The projects are designed to modernize, improve, and/or expand water and wastewater systems, including by making them more resilient to natural disasters and other challenges.
Wildfires have the potential to impact water and wastewater utilities by more than just burning their infrastructure and introducing harmful chemicals into pipes, as has been observed in recent incidents. As happened following a large wildfire in New Mexico last year, a city’s water utility was unable to treat the water due to large amounts of ash and debris, leading the local and state governments to declare emergencies.
1620 I Street, NW, Suite 500
Washington, DC 20006
1-866-H2O-ISAC (1-866-426-4722)
© 2025 WaterISAC. All Rights Reserved.
