Risk management company Gate 15 is offering another presentation on its Hostile Events Preparedness Series (HEPS). Join the free session on Thursday, November 4 from 1:00 PM to 2:30 PM ET to learn more about the Hostile Event Attack Cycle (HEAC). The HEAC identifies the phases a threat actor utilizes prior to perpetrating an attack.
Human activity and climate change are degrading the water quality of the Great Lakes, catalyzing algae blooms, and ultimately threatening the drinking supply that tens of millions of Americans rely upon. The Great Lakes provide drinking water for 10 percent of the U.S. population and 30 percent of the Canadian population. However, more than a century of industrialization and urbanization now coupled with the effects of climate change have significantly impacted this vital water source.
Supply chain disruptions currently afflicting the U.S. and the global community will likely continue into next year. Many water and wastewater utilities have already been affected by the disruptions and have had to implement contingency measures that include reevaluating their plans and exploring alternative supply channels to increase their operational resilience. Given the predicted duration of the disruptions, other utilities are encouraged to assess the situation and consider implementing similar measures.
This past Tuesday, FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell testified before the House Committee on Oversight and Reform on the agency’s response to severe weather events, including Hurricane Ida, and on ongoing efforts to confront future threats. She emphasized the impacts of climate change noting it makes “natural disasters more frequent, more intense, and more destructive.” Reflecting on Hurricane Ida, Criswell highlighted a number of important considerations for policymakers and others in the emergency management community.
Researchers have developed a computer modeling tool, the Socio-Environmental Triage (MST) platform, that analyses current risks to water, infrastructure, and more to identify hot spots and it is now publicly available. The tool resulted from efforts at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), where researchers have been developing an emerging discipline and accompanying computer modeling programs for the purpose of making infrastructure more resilient against future extreme weather and other contingency impacts.
California regulators anticipate they may not be able to allocate reservoir water to utilities across the state next year for the first time ever because of unprecedented dry conditions. The California State Water Project oversees a large system of dams, canals, and reservoirs and helps provide drinking water to around 27 million people in the state. Typically, during the “wet season” rain and melted snow fill the reservoirs, with regulators releasing the stored water during dry summer months.
Denver Water is planning an innovative water storage project to mitigate potential future impacts to its water supply due to climate change related stresses. The plan calls for an exploratory well to be dug a few hundred feet, near one of Denver Water’s facilities, to test if the idea of storing excess water underground is feasible. The concept is known as Aquifer Storage and Recovery (ASR). “Storing excess water underground in wet years would provide a savings account of sorts to help the community endure dry periods,” according to Bob Peters, water resource engineer for Denver Water.
The U.S. EPA is hosting a free webinar on Wednesday, November 3, 2021 on coordination between the water and emergency services sectors, which it notes has never been more important as natural disasters threaten communities and critical water infrastructure.
See the flyer below for more information.
As National Preparedness Month comes to a close, EPA emphasizes the importance of being prepared to recover from disasters. It highlights resources it has made available to help with this important step.
A National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)-led drought taskforce has just completed a report on the record-breaking drought in the southwestern U.S. The study, NOAA Drought Task Force Report on the 2020–2021 Southwestern U.S. Drought, analyzed precipitation and temperature levels across six southwestern states—Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, and Utah—for 20-months from January 2020 through August 2021.
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