In response to fears, water agencies look for vulnerabilities

Thursday, March 20, 2003 | 11:15 a.m.

Southern Nevada's water agencies are looking for potential vulnerabilities in the water system, responding to attack fears and federally mandated studies, authorities say.

The federal Environmental Protection Agency required water systems nationwide to identify vulnerabilities to terrorist attack following the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. Most, including water agencies throughout Southern Nevada, instituted security and infrastructure upgrades immediately after the 2001 incident, but the changes continue.

"We finished the (vulnerability) study about the beginning of this year, about three months early," said Vince Alberta, spokesman for the Las Vegas Valley Water District and Southern Nevada Water Authority. "But we've been making enhancements to our system ever since 9-11, and we've continued to evaluate and make adjustments where necessary.

As a result officials with the water authority, the water district and Henderson's utility service said they are confident that their systems, which deliver water to more than 1 million customers in the area, are safe.

"We feel like we have done everything imaginable to protect the water supply," Alberta said. "We know that it's critical to the infrastructure of our community.

"Where improvements are necessary we will make them, but we feel confident with what we've done."

The water authority is the wholesale provider for water to nearly all Clark County residents. Local agencies, including the water district that serves customers in Las Vegas and the unincorporated county and the cities of North Las Vegas, Henderson and Boulder City, bring the water to the tap.

The studies prepared by the local agencies will go to the EPA, which will evaluate them. Kurt Segler, utilities director for Henderson, said there will be additional consultation between the EPA, the Homeland Security Agency and the local system managers.

Within six months the water system managers have to give the EPA an action plan that describes what can and will be done as a result of the vulnerability study, Segler said.

In most cases the changes involve minimal capital investment, Dennis Porter, assistant utilities director, added.

Segler said the regulatory response to the security issues is still evolving, but the response on the ground is largely in place. Some of the most obvious elements include increased security.

Security levels for the water agencies' infrastructure, including pumping and treatment plants, are tied to the federal color-coded warning system. That is true also for the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation's security measures in place on Hoover Dam, Bob Walsh, a spokesman for the federal agency, said.

One move that reverses longtime policy is that the water plants and pump stations that once were open to the public are now closed and guarded. Segler said agencies used to commonly invite the public in to increase confidence in the water system. Now, the reverse is in place for the same reason.

The water is tested more often for chemical or biological agents. Alberta said the water authority tests 300,000 times a year for a nearly constant evaluation of the quality.

The chlorine level in water to Las Vegas and Henderson residents was doubled after the Sept. 11 attacks, from 0.5 parts per million to 1 part per million, to further protect the water from biological agents. Most people cannot tell the difference, Alberta said, emphasizing that the chlorine level is still one-quarter of the federal standard.

One thing that very few people will see is the vulnerability studies, which by federal and state law are kept confidential. Alberta said only a couple of the studies exist in his organization.

Segler said the point is not to keep secrets, but it would be foolish to release some kinds of information.

"We would give the people we are trying to protect ourselves from the very information they want," he said.