Winter 2008
Articles	News from the Field Water and Plant Security Security at water and wastewater treatment plants has been a hot-button topic in our industry during recent years. Two threats of particular concern are terrorism and natural disasters. Reduce these threats by securing your plant and off-site water entry points. To secure and monitor your plant: Install access control devices on all vital doors and cabinets. Install alarms that will go off when a problem is detected. Use motion lighting or all-night lighting to deter intrusion. Install a security camera package to see what is going on in real-time at your facility. Some packages let you monitor on- or off-site via the internet. Install an autodialer in conjunction with switches, sensors or camera packages to contact the proper people immediately if there is a facility intrusion. Use wireless communication packages, which don’t require wires that can be cut, to communicate critical information. Install valve lockout devices to prevent or deter access to valves. Use signs to let people know that your facility is off-limits. Hire an on-site security guard to monitor your facility. To secure off-site water entry points: Install hydrant locks to ensure only the proper use for fire hydrants. Add locking devices to the test cocks on exposed backflow preventers to ensure nothing can be injected into the water supply and that nobody can steal water. Cover and lock your exposed above-ground backflow devices or air release valves. Install manhole barriers or manhole cover locks to secure vulnerable equipment. Make sure your off-site lift stations and monitoring equipment are properly locked with access control locks, and that those areas are well lit with either motion lighting or all-night lighting. Use signs to inform people that an area is off-limits. USABluebook offers a number of options to make your facility safer. Please contact our Technical Support staff to help you secure your facilities. Useful websites with information to help you secure your plant: http://cfpub.epa.gov http://www.wef.org http://www.asce.org http://www.awwa.org See here for more information on our security products. Copyright © 2008, USABlueBook®, All rights reserved.