Convention Looks at Water Security
By KYLE WINGFIELD
Associated Press Writer
ATLANTA - Michael Cook remembers how the U.S. Embassy in Vietnam was transformed into a virtual fort during the war there, enabling the building to withstand numerous attacks.
Now he wonders whether American water and wastewater facilities should be fortified similarly _ with walls, fences and heavy security _ to protect against potential terrorism.
Cook, director of the Environmental Protection Agency's wastewater management arm, was among experts attending the Water Environment Federation's annual convention Monday.
This year's convention has a noticeable security emphasis following the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks and concerns that the nation's water supplies could be targets.
"We are focusing on trying to deal with the most immediate issues as best we can, and over time we'll look at larger issues that will require a great deal of capital and intellectual capital," Cook said.
Patrick Karney, executive director of Cincinnati's sanitation system, said the city held weeklong training sessions focusing on weapons of mass destruction, complete with mock disasters involving SWAT teams and bomb squads _ all before the attacks.
Since then, the city has gone further, even comparing sewer system maps to overlays marking the placement of significant structures such as federal buildings.
Workers at a water-treatment laboratory in Columbia County, Ga., call shipping companies to verify who should be driving trucks and what chemicals should be aboard, manager Margaret Doss said.
Other experts recommended that cities study their systems to determine weaknesses. They also warned against relying solely on high-tech security, noting that low-tech measures _ such as more guards _ sometimes are more effective.
Karney said Americans should have an increased sense of awareness, but he stressed that problems likely would involve disruption rather than contamination.
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