Preventing Terrorist Attacks on Water and Wastewater Systems
This paper examines the security of the United States water and wastewater systems sector in the context of terrorism and natural disasters. It outlines the scale and public importance of the sector — serving roughly 84% of the U.S. population — and identifies the range of threats it faces, from hurricanes and cyberattacks to deliberate contamination. The paper surveys government responses since the September 11, 2001 attacks, including vulnerability assessments, emergency preparedness planning, and chemical disinfection reforms. It concludes by arguing that existing measures are insufficient against a determined terrorist threat and recommends improvements in physical security, cybersecurity, worker training, and interagency coordination.
- Introduction: Water Security and National Strategy: Terrorism reshapes national security strategy post-9/11
- Scale and Importance of the Water and Wastewater Sector: Sector serves 84% of U.S. population
- Threat Landscape: Natural Disasters and Terrorism: Multiple attack methods threaten water infrastructure
- Government Security Measures and Their Limitations: Post-9/11 measures remain largely reactive
- Recommendations for Strengthening Water System Security: Physical, cyber, and training improvements proposed
- Conclusion: Long-term security requires eliminating terrorism itself
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What makes this paper effective
- Grounds abstract security concepts in concrete statistics — the claim that 84% of the U.S. population depends on public drinking water systems immediately establishes the stakes.
- Balances multiple threat types (natural disasters, conventional sabotage, cyberattacks, contamination) rather than treating terrorism in isolation, giving the argument realistic breadth.
- Moves logically from problem identification to policy critique to practical recommendations, giving the paper a clear cause-and-effect structure.
Key academic technique demonstrated
The paper demonstrates policy-gap analysis: it surveys existing government measures, cites official sources to establish what is currently in place, and then argues that those measures are reactive rather than preventive — a distinction that drives its recommendations section. This technique is effective for applied security and public-policy writing at the undergraduate level.
Structure breakdown
The paper opens with a framing of terrorism as a redefined national-security threat, then narrows to the water sector's scale and vulnerability. It surveys both conventional and terrorist threats before critically assessing post-9/11 government responses. The final section pivots to forward-looking recommendations covering physical security, cybersecurity, and workforce training, closing with a normative appeal to address terrorism at its root. The conclusion is brief but integrative.
Introduction: Water Security and National Strategy
Terrorism is today an established threat that is part of every security strategy of modern states. It is not only an unconventional threat to national security but has also driven the redefinition of the term "security" as it was understood roughly twenty years ago. Currently, there is widespread discussion about economic, political, and social security as distinct areas that the state must consider when drafting and implementing a national security strategy. At the same time, especially after the events of September 2001, the security of infrastructure and natural resources has become an increasingly important element of that discussion.
In the United States — the country considered to be the most targeted by terrorist threats — an important part of the security strategy concerns the economic sectors that need protection from potential perpetrators. One such sector is the water and wastewater system. This paper focuses on the way in which the government understands the security of this sector, identifying the role the sector plays in the broader national strategy, the actions constantly taken to limit its vulnerability, and official perspectives on those actions. The final section considers possible improvements that could further increase the security of this sector.
Scale and Importance of the Water and Wastewater Sector
The water and wastewater sector is enormously important to the well-being of every nation. In the United States, given the country's large population and the size of its territory, the sector plays a vital role in everyday American life. More precisely, "There are approximately 160,000 public drinking water systems and more than 16,000 publicly owned wastewater treatment systems in the United States. Approximately 84% of the U.S. population receives their potable water from these drinking water systems, and more than 75% of the U.S. population has its sanitary sewerage treated by these wastewater systems" (Dept. of Homeland Security, 2013). The proportion of the population that depends on this system is striking. This high degree of dependency also reflects the extensive infrastructure maintained throughout the country. From this perspective, there is a clear necessity to ensure that the infrastructure is not vulnerable from either an internal or external standpoint.
From a general perspective, the system is inherently vulnerable from the simple fact that it cannot be protected at all times. Traditional threats are not necessarily external and relate to everyday aspects of life. Several key vulnerabilities have been identified: "Sector assets are vulnerable to a variety of separate or combined attack methods and natural disasters. Plausible attack methods include explosive devices; contamination in drinking water distribution systems; sabotage of water treatment systems; hazardous material releases; and cyber attacks on Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) systems. Natural incidents such as earthquakes, hurricanes, tornadoes, floods, and pandemics also pose threats to the Water Sector" (U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 2010).
Threat Landscape: Natural Disasters and Terrorism
The infrastructure is vulnerable in the face of threats that cannot be controlled, such as natural disasters and earthquakes. The storms that have passed through the United States in recent years — from hurricanes to massive winter storms — have caused impressive damage to the sector. As one 2005 report noted, the damage caused by Hurricane Katrina extended even to the electrical systems that powered water pumps: "Damages at many water infrastructure facilities as a result of Hurricane Katrina included loss of electric power to pump, process, and treat raw water supply and wastewater. Initially following the storm, some plants were able to operate temporarily on backup generators, so long as fuel was available" (Copeland, 2005). This illustrates how conventional threats such as natural disasters affect a wide array of interconnected elements that ultimately impact the water system.
The terrorist threat to the system, however, is one of the most serious items on the threats list. It is important primarily because the system affects millions of lives throughout the country and can therefore serve as a target for terrorists seeking to impact as many people as possible in order to deliver their message. Moreover, terrorist groups are well aware of the role the water system plays for the government. A group wishing to send a clear and unequivocal message to the central government would most likely target a system that touches as much of the population as possible.
Numerous studies have been conducted on the topic, and the subject is under constant discussion to better understand system vulnerabilities and develop more effective strategies to address them. A 2010 study concluded that "Damage to or destruction of the nation's water supply and water quality infrastructure by terrorist attack or natural disaster could disrupt the delivery of vital human services in this country, threatening public health and the environment, or possibly causing loss of life. Interest in such problems has increased greatly since the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks in the United States" (Copeland, 2010).
The possible consequences of contaminating the drinkable water supply could not only cause immediate death for those in contact with the water but would also result in numerous injuries that would, in turn, overwhelm relief systems, hospitals, infrastructure, and other services that would be essential in such a catastrophic situation. Furthermore, the effects would not only be short-term; they would most likely impact several generations of people, especially if the means of contamination were not immediately identified and eradicated. Such a dramatic scenario resembles real-life cases in mining areas where water was slowly yet constantly polluted with chemical substances without environmental agencies or local communities noticing. Those cases resulted in decades of health problems for affected populations and long-term contamination of soil and the surrounding environment. If a comparable scenario were applied at a national level, the effects would be catastrophic. This is the primary reason the water and wastewater system is so vital to the population and to the government — and, conversely, so appealing as a target for terrorist groups.
Conclusion
Terrorism is not a phenomenon that can be either taken lightly or eradicated. There have been numerous military interventions in the last decade aimed at destroying terrorist groups; however, their actions were not stopped and the threat remains one of great concern. Although the United States has not suffered a large-scale domestic terrorist attack since 2001, history provides no guarantee against future events. No matter the measures taken to prevent terrorist attacks on the water and wastewater sector, or the pre-emptive actions undertaken in this regard, the most important long-term goal must be to work — through every means possible — to make terrorism a threat of the past.
References
Copeland, C. (2005). Hurricane-damaged drinking water and wastewater facilities: Impacts, needs, and response. CRS Report for Congress. Retrieved from
Copeland, C. (2010). Terrorism and security issues facing the water infrastructure sector. Congressional Research Service. Retrieved from http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/terror/RL32189.pdf
Dept. of Homeland Security. (2013). Water and wastewater systems sector. Retrieved from http://www.dhs.gov/water-and-wastewater-systems-sector
Leuven, L. (2011). Water/wastewater infrastructure security: Threats and vulnerabilities. In R. M. Clark et al. (Eds.), Handbook of water and wastewater systems protection: Protecting critical infrastructure.
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. (2010). Water sector-specific plan: An annex to the national infrastructure protection plan 2010. Homeland Security. Retrieved from http://www.dhs.gov/xlibrary/assets/nipp-ssp-water-2010.pdf
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