October 7, 2020: Building Security and Resilience to Cyber Threats, Disinformation, and other Hazards in the Water and Wastewater Sector
WaterISAC personnel briefed during a webinar with EPA on October 7.
General Security and Resilience
Community-Based Water Resilience: Keep Vital Services Flowing
Communities rely on water and wastewater services. Approximately 53,000 community water systems in the United States serve more than 300 million Americans, each of whom uses approximately 100 gallons of water per day. An estimated 14,748 publicly owned treatment works provide wastewater collection, treatment, and disposal service to more than 238 million Americans. Whether potable water for drinking and sanitation, or wastewater treatment for environmental release or recycling, water services are the lifeblood of any community.
FEMA Continuity Training Schedule
FEMA has published its October schedule of National Continuity training and activities. Some of the courses FEMA is offering for this and the coming months include the Continuity of Operations (COOP) Program Managers Course and the Continuity Planners Workshop. The COOP Program Managers Course covers program requirements and elements and support requirements and describes the roles and responsibilities of the Continuity Program Manager and other key players in developing a viable continuity program.
Severe Storms, Destructive Fires, and Extreme Heat: 16 Billion-Dollar Disasters Have Hit the U.S. Already in 2020
As of yesterday, the U.S. has experienced 16 weather/climate disaster events in 2020 with losses exceeding $1 billion each, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). Eleven were due to severe storms – which occurred across more than 30 states – and the remaining five consisted of three tropical cyclones, one wildfire, and one drought. The drought has affected the western and central U.S. According to the U.S. Drought Monitor report, 42.6 percent of the contiguous U.S. was in drought.
Great ShakeOut Earthquake Drill (2020)
Next Thursday, October 15, people nationwide and around the world are encouraged to participate in the “Great ShakeOut,” an international earthquake drill. Participation in the event is simple and entails registering your organization, informing colleagues about the drill, and holding the drill, which involves the steps of “Drop! Cover! Hold On!” Additionally, via the Great ShakeOut website visitors can access other information and resources about earthquake preparedness, including videos, earthquake safety guides, and information on other exercises.
Report on Extreme Heat Impacts to Utility Staff and Infrastructure
The Association of Metropolitan Agencies (AMWA), which operates WaterISAC, and the Water Utility Climate Alliance (WUCA) have just published a new report, It's Hot and Getting Hotter: Implications of Extreme Heat on Water Utility Staff and Infrastructure and Ideas for Adapting, which describes the implications of heat impacts on utility personnel and assets over the next 50 years.
DHS Homeland Threat Assessment, October 2020
Today the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) released Homeland Threat Assessment, an unclassified document that provides information into the department’s current threat priorities. The document includes only one reference to water but many references to critical infrastructure security generally, particularly with respect to cybersecurity. The report noted that Russia, China and North Korea have varying abilities to conduct cyber attacks against critical infrastructure.
Security Incident Survey (July to September 2020)
In support of its mission to identify threats to the water and wastewater sector, WaterISAC is asking utilities to respond to its survey asking about incidents and suspicious activities they've experienced in the past quarter, from July 1 to September 30, 2020. WaterISAC will aggregate, anonymize*, and share with members the information collected from the survey in its next Quarterly Water Sector Incident Summary report. The response deadline is Friday, October 16, 2020.
Community-Based Water Resiliency Training (EPA)
EPA recently made available a training video on Community-Based Water Resiliency (CBWR), which seeks to help drinking water and wastewater utilities and critical infrastructure and community partners to better communicate and coordinate with each other. The video focuses on preparing for and working through a potential water outage in a community. It is comprised of three sections:
Public Safety Power Shutoff Standard Operating Procedure Template (EPA)
EPA collaborated with California water and electric utilities, the State Water Boards, and other stakeholders to develop the Public Safety Power Shutoff (PSPS) Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) Template. Although the SOP was developed for PSPS events, most of the actions apply to any power outage that water utilities could experience.
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