Water Utility Managers Warned of Possible Threat
MORNING NEWS 10/24/01
Session Encourages Preventive Measures, Heightened Awareness
By Scott F. Davis
The Morning News - sdavis@nwaonline.net
SPRINGDALE - Leaders of the Benton County Department of Emergency Management warned about 150 water-utility officials Wednesday of potential terrorism threats in an effort to raise awareness and encourage prevention. Gerald Hodges, the director of the department, said at the meeting of the Northwest District of the Arkansas Water Works and Water Environmental Association that the biggest threat to utilities in this region is probably not from terrorists, but rather from 'copycats.'
Hodges also urged utility officials from the nine-county organization to report quickly the theft of vehicles or uniforms, because these could be used by terrorists to gain entry into buildings or facilities with less scrutiny.
"It's not panic time yet," Hodges said. "We just need to raise our awareness."
Brenda Balk, the deputy coordinator of the department, explained preventive measures that utility officials can take to make facilities more secure and less vulnerable to terrorists.
Balk said the most important things to do is establish an emergency response plan and obtain mutual-aid agreements with other nearby agencies.
"If you don't have (an emergency management plan), get one now," Balk urged.
Some recommended measures:
Building secure perimeter fences;
Establishing security entrances;
Restricting unscheduled visitors from entering the facilities;
Replacing chains and locks with aircraft cable lock systems.
Protective devices and screening to hide chemicals, such as chlorine gas, also was recommended.
It is also a good idea for utility staff members to improve communication with local law-enforcement officials and emergency management teams, she said.
Balk provided an overview on the five types of weapons of mass destruction - biological, nuclear, incendiary, chemical and explosive ‹ and the potential threats from each.
Chemical weapons are easy to obtain but require greater concentration than biological weapons to be effective, she explained. Biological weapons are harder to obtain but are relatively easy to produce, she explained. Nuclear weapons are even harder to obtain, but some types of radioactive agents can be found in hospitals and industrial facilities, she said.
In a video presentation distributed by the Arkansas Department of Emergency Management, officials said that the biggest threats to utility officials are from bombs or other explosive or incendiary devices sent though the mail.
In other business, the district:
Heard from James Hoelscher, the lab supervisor at Beaver Water District, that so far this year there haven't been the taste and odor problems that occurred last year. He also explained a training on water-quality methods and modeling that is available through the Environmental Protection Agency's Watershed Academy. More information on this program is on the Web site www.epa.gov/owow/watershed/wacademy/.
Learned from Craig Burger, a technical support engineer with the Arkansas Department of Health, that beginning Jan. 1, new regulations will be in place requiring testing for potentially carcinogenic byproducts of the chlorination disinfecting process.
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